Children are a blessing and a curse
by BrandonMichelle
Summary: Mostly fluffy but some serious vignettes involving Marius and Cosettes six children . I'm not going in a linear timeline, I'm jumping around a lot depending on the Ideas I come up with . Novel verse based fic . I like reviews by the way, they make me feel special .
1. Marie

**Children are a blessing and a curse**

**Summary: Cosette interrupts some bonding time with Marius and their first child.**

Cosette awoke early one afternoon, she had been taking a nap on advice from her husband as she had been feeling quite tired lately. Their daughter Marie was barely three months old at the moment and she could be quite demanding. Cosette breastfed her herself instead of using a wet-nurse, she was adamant about that, she wanted her baby to be healthy and this was her way of making sure she had the best nutrition, but it meant that she had to be with Marie a lot of the time though, hence why she was so tired.

Still, she was feeling better now after a sleep so she arose and went to fix her hair by the dresser. Once she was finished she smoothed down her clothes and went downstairs to find Marius, where he would no doubt be with little Marie.  
Marius had really come into his own since he became a father, he was an amazing husband anyway but fatherhood seemed to suit him wonderfully and he loved spending time with his daughter. It was so endearing to Cosette to see him playing with Marie and to see all the time he spent cuddling her and kissing her, he really was a wonderful father. She'd heard about women whose husbands would lose interest in them after they had children and wouldn't want to touch them anymore, but thankfully Marius wasn't like that. He still looked at her like she was the most beautiful woman in the world and he told her he loved her all the time, and she believed him. She thanked God every day that she had such an amazing husband as him.

Cosette was heading to the parlour when she heard Marius's voice, he was in there playfully talking to Marie the way he liked to do when he was alone with her, Cosette entered the room quietly and stood in the doorway for a moment smiling, she didn't want to interrupt this precious moment so she just stayed there silently and watched the two of them.

Marius was sitting on a chaise holding Marie upright with his hands under her armpits, bouncing her up and down gently on his knees; he was so enraptured by his daughter that he hadn't even noticed Cosette at the door yet.

"Arent you just the most beautiful little girl in the world" he said to his daughter, bouncing her again.

"Yes you are Marie" He continued "You're just like your mother, so beautiful"

This made Cosette smile, but she still didn't want to interrupt the two of them just yet, so she continued standing quietly in the doorway.

"I hope you know Marie that I'm never ever letting you go," he said to her softly "I can't, I love you too much already, I'm never letting another man take you away from me. Besides my darling girl, I don't think any man will ever be good enough for you, I think I'll just have to keep you locked in this house forever".

Marie fussed a little in his arms at that moment and she let out a small cry, but Marius adjusted his grip on her and brought her to rest against his shoulder for a moment.

"Aw, don't worry little one" He said to her softly, "I was only joking sweetheart".

He rubbed her back gently for a moment and kissed her soft hair, then he brought her back in front of him and held her again under the armpits.

"But really Marie, I don't think anyone will ever be good enough for you" he said again and then he bounced her up and down a little more vigorously than usual which made her laugh a beautiful little baby laugh.

Marius gasped, this was the first time she had ever done that, and Cosette gasped too at the sound of her baby laughing which made Marius whip his head round to see Cosette standing at the door.

"Cosette…." He said in disbelief, "Did you hear her? She laughed!"

Cosette walked over to Marius with a huge smile on her face, "I know I heard, oh my God it was wonderful Marius"

Cosette sat down next to her husband and he handed her the baby, "Oh you're such a clever girl Marie, did papa make you laugh?" Cosette then bounced her just like Marius had done and then she laughed again.

It was the most beautiful sound both Cosette and Marius had ever heard, the first laugh from their very first baby, Cosette felt so blessed that they had both been there to hear it, she held her baby in her arms and she hoped it would be the first laugh of many from her, and from many more babies yet to come.


	2. Jean

**Summary: Cosette finally has the son she longed for.**

Jean Pontmercy, the first son of Marius and Cosette Pontmercy had been born just two weeks ago and he was already the pride and joy of his parents. Cosette especially had fallen in love with the little boy extremely hard.  
She had prayed for a son during the pregnancy, she had wanted one so badly. Of course she loved her daughter Marie with all her heart and it made her so happy to see Marius take such joy in being with his daughter, but Cosette knew that it was important for her husband to have a son and she wanted to give it to him desperately.

"_A man should have a son" _she had often thought to herself during the pregnancy, "_I want to give my husband a son, he deserves it_". It didn't matter how many times Marius had told her he just wanted a healthy baby; Cosette knew she wouldn't rest until she had given him a baby boy.

So when Jean was born and she held him in her arms she was overjoyed, she would have been overjoyed to have any new-born baby but Jean was everything she had been praying for and he had finally arrived. He was such a gorgeous baby, he had Cosette eyes and a head of hair already and Cosette could tell he was going to grow up to be so handsome just like his papa. It was amazing to her how quickly she could fall in love with her babies, she remembered feeling the same about Marie, how from the very first moment she had held her she knew she would love her forever. It was the same with Jean, she loved this little boy so much already, he was hers and Marius's and that made him more precious than anything.

Cosette was breastfeeding the two-week old Jean one morning in a chair in her bedroom, looking down at him and smiling, Marius was dressing himself smartly as he had to go into work for several hours today, he was a partner in a law firm now and was establishing himself as a very successful lawyer in his own right, he had told Cosette that one day he would have his own law firm, and he was well on his way to seeing that become a reality and she was so proud of him. He was a wonderful provider for the family and a wonderful father and she loved him and his children more each day.

When he was finally finished fixing his cravat, (he always had trouble with his cravats!) he looked over at his wife and son and smiled, he would miss them today. He felt like these first days with his babies were the most precious so he was sad to miss them, but the fact was if he didn't go to work then he wouldn't earn money, and that wouldn't help his children at all.

He went over to Cosette and kissed the crown of her head as she continued feeding Jean.

"Goodbye my darling, I'll see you both later" he said quietly to her

She looked up at him and said "Goodbye" and he took the opportunity to kiss her lips gently before leaving for the day. "Don't forget to say goodbye to Marie as well" she reminded him

"I wont" he said, and then he stroked Jeans head gently and smiled "Don't be too greedy my son, give your mama a break sometimes please" he said and Cosette laughed gently.

He kissed her again quickly and said goodbye a second time before leaving quietly and heading towards Maries room to bid her farewell.

Cosette watched him leave and turned her attention back to her son again; he had stopped feeding and was looking up at her with his gorgeous blue eyes. She smiled at him again and wondered if he was even aware of who she was yet, did he know she was his mother? She hoped so; she hoped he could already tell how much she and Marius loved him.

She figured for now though she would just have to tell him out loud how she felt, "I love you" she whispered to him and then she kissed his little forehead gently.


	3. Isabel & Courfeyrac

**Summary: Having twins in the house gets too overwhelming for Cosette**

The Pontmercy twins, Isabel and Courfeyrac were just over a year old when one afternoon Cosette was helping the nanny to give them a bath, well that's what she was trying to do anyway, the twins hated baths and they weren't shy about expressing it.

It used to be that Cosette loved to give her babies a bath, Marie and Jean were barely fussy at all when it came to being washed, but when it came to the twins Cosette felt like she was at her wits end with them.  
Courfeyrac had a good set of lungs on him and at bath time he preferred screaming rather than letting someone bathe him, and since the twins were so close already even as toddlers whenever he would start screaming it would set Isabel off as well, so as you can imagine, bath time was starting to become Cosettes least favourite activity just as much as theirs.

The nanny was seeing to Isabel who she was drying off with a towel whilst Cosette was doing her best to make Courfeyrac stop crying and get him bathed, he kept struggling though and screaming and worst of all kicking his feet. Cosette kept getting splashed by the water he kept kicking about that the front of her dress was slowly getting drenched.

"Come on sweetheart" she tried saying to him gently, even though her patience was running out. "It's not that bad, it's just a bath. Can't you be a good boy for me?"

But he just continued screaming even more until Cosette felt herself snap.

She turned to the nanny with tears in her eyes, "I'm sorry, I can't do this anymore" she said, although she wasn't really feeling sorry at all at that moment, right then she felt like she wanted to be rid of all her children for good. She stood up and made her way quickly out of the room, leaving the nanny alone with the two screaming toddlers.

Cosette ran to her bedroom in tears, she could still hear the two children screaming which just added to her exasperation at that moment.

She slammed her bedroom door behind her and leant against it for a moment, literally shaking from a mixture of anger and frustration. She felt done, done with child rearing, done with screaming babies and done with everything. It was getting too much for her, having two babies at once was too much pressure for her even with the help of a nanny, she used to get such joy out of being with her babies, but she felt like she just couldn't cope anymore.

Cosette walked over to her wardrobe, the water Courfeyrac had splashed on her was turning cold against her skin so she wanted to put on a dry dress, but she was still so frustrated she couldn't manage to stop her hands shaking long enough to undress herself properly.

That was the last straw for Cosette; she let out a scream of defeat and hit the wardrobe with her fist before crumpling to the floor, leaning against the cold wood for support while she cried. She sat there on the floor in tears for what seemed like an eternity until the door to the bedroom opened and Marius walked in, the nanny had informed him that Cosette seemed distressed so obviously he was quite concerned, unfortunately for him he was the last person Cosette wanted to see at that moment.

He saw her sitting on the floor in tears and he walked over to her "Cosette, what's wrong?" he asked anxiously

She didn't look up at him; she just looked at the floor with tears in her eyes.

"Please leave me alone Marius". She said sadly

"Not until you tell me what's wrong" he said while sitting down on the floor as well

Cosette couldn't look at him, she was too upset and frustrated at everything it was taking everything in her to not explode at him right then.

"It's the twins isn't it?" Marius asked. He had been in his study doing some paperwork whilst Cosette was with the nanny, but he could still hear the twins screaming from the other room.

Cosette nodded slowly, still not looking at him and staring at the floor, practically burning a hole into it with her eyes.

"Oh Cosette…" he said, for lack of anything better to say, he took one of her hands and held it gently for a moment, before she finally did look at him with a serious look on her face.

"No more children Marius" she said defeatedly "I'm finished"

"What do you mean?" Marius asked in disbelief

"I'm done with it, all of it." She said angrily "All the pain and the screaming and the feedings and nappies, I'm tired of it. I don't want any more children Marius, I'm done"

"Cosette don't say that, you're a wonderful mother" Marius told her

"I don't feel like it Marius" she said, pulling her hand back "I can't even make them stop crying anymore" and as she said that even more tears fell down her face.

"Darling, you're just feeling like this because of the twins, they just don't like baths that's all" He told her "It won't be like this forever, we've been through two other babies remember, it will get easier".

"I know" she said still slightly angry "But I'm just tired of it all, I'm tired of being with screaming babies all the time. I don't feel like myself anymore and I'm so tired of it". Then she finished with a real sincerity "I don't want any more children".

"Cosette…." He began sadly, but she interrupted him

"Please just leave me alone Marius.…please" Cosette said through her tears.

Marius nodded and stood up again, he felt like it would be better to just leave her alone for a while like she asked. He'd seen her upset before but never like this, he'd never seen her look so defeated and tired before, and he never thought she'd ever tell him she didn't want any more children. It felt as if she was telling him she didn't want to be with him anymore, and that hurt him more than anything else.

"Alright" he said, standing up again "Please try to feel better". He looked at her as she stared at the floor sadly and then said one last thing before he left her alone.

"I love you" he said to her softly, hoping she would say the same back, but instead of replying she just nodded woefully in return.

* * *

Several hours passed, and Cosette woke up on her bed. She had decided to take a nap earlier as she was feeling so bad she just wanted an escape and sleep seemed like the best option at the time.

As she awoke she realised she felt better, a lot better In fact. Perhaps she had overreacted earlier she thought to herself, it's not like she hadn't dealt with crying babies before, perhaps she was just feeling overwhelmed.  
She turned over on the bed and caught sight of the empty twins' cots in the corner of the room and she remembered feeling angry at the two of them just for crying, and then she suddenly felt so guilty for that.

_How could I be angry at babies? That's horrible._ She thought to herself, and then she remembered what she had said to Marius about not wanting any more children and she felt even worse about herself. She put a hand over her eyes to stop some tears from escaping as she felt herself fill with regret but she pulled herself together and got off the bed as she realised she had some apologising to do.

Cosette passed the nursery on her way to find Marius and could hear her two older children playing happily under the watchful eye of the nanny so she left them there and headed downstairs. She looked in the parlour but Marius wasn't there, so she tried his study.

She knocked on the door and she heard Marius say "Come in".

She entered the room rather timidly as she didn't know what mood he would be in, she didn't know if he would be angry with her or not, after all she felt like she had hurt him so it wouldn't surprise her if he might want to act cold towards her for a while.

He looked up from his desk slightly surprised to see her, "Oh um…..hello" he said, slightly worried that she might still be angry, just as she was worrying that about him.

"Can we talk?" she asked him nervously

"Of course" he said, and he beckoned her over to him.

She sat on the edge of his desk in front of him as he remained seated in his chair; she looked at him sadly for a moment and began to speak.

"Marius I'm….." she began, but he stood up and stopped her from speaking

"Wait…please, let me speak first." He started; he took her hands in his and looked at her face. "I've been thinking and I'm sorry that you've been feeling so overwhelmed lately, I know it's hard sometimes coping with four children so If you don't want any more babies I can accept that Cosette, even if it means separate beds from now on".

Cosette looked at him in disbelief, but he hadn't noticed as he was looking down at the floor trying not to let tears escape as he continued speaking

"I want you to be happy and it tears me apart to see you so upset so if you don't want any more children I promise I can find a way of living with that. But I'll never stop loving you". He said, with tears in his eyes.

Cosette looked at him and felt even worse about herself; she hadn't realised how much she had hurt him with her words. She never should have told him she didn't want any more of his children, it was harsh beyond belief. And worse, it wasn't even true.

"Oh Marius….no" she said to him standing up again and putting her hands on his face "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean what I said, I swear. I didn't mean any of it I was just tired and angry, I was being horrible to you and you don't deserve it my love. I want to have lots more of your children".

"Do you?" he asked hopefully

"I really do, I'm so sorry about everything I said, I love you so much Marius, please forgive me". She said tearfully

"I forgive you, and I love you too". He said, and then he kissed her. He started kissing her gently but he got more passionate as he felt her kissing him back more deeply, he pushed her gently back against his desk so that she was sitting on the edge of the desk again and kept on kissing her as his hands wandered down to her waist.

"Wait…." She said, gently pushing him away. "I want more children Marius but I don't want to make a baby right this minute" she said teasingly

Marius looked at her and smiled lovingly, he pressed his forehead against hers for a moment just to drink her in.

"But maybe later tonight?" she said, half asking him and half requesting it at the same time, which made him smile again and he nodded to her.

"By the way, where are the babies?" Cosette asked Marius when she remembered that they weren't in their cots yet.

"Oh um….they were getting sleepy so I put them in Jeans bed for now, I didn't want to disturb you". He informed her.

"Thank you for that" she said squeezing his hand gently, "We should probably put them in their cots now though".

Marius simply nodded again and followed as she led him by the hand out of his study and towards their babies.


	4. León

**Summary: The youngest Pontmercy boy turns one.**

It was a day of celebration today in the Pontmercy household, their youngest boy Léon was celebrating his first birthday. Léon was a gorgeous little boy, he seemed to have been blessed with the best features of his parents, especially his eyes, he had such striking bright blue eyes.

Marius was especially fond of the little boy, he was fond of all his children, he loved them all, but León was such a precious little child that Marius was quite taken with him. He saw a lot of himself in Léon; unlike Jean his oldest boy who was studious and quiet, and Courfeyrac his middle son who was unbelievably boisterous, León was quite shy already and didn't like being the centre of attention just like Marius had been as a boy.

Perhaps that's why Marius was so taken with the lad; he thought if he could raise León differently than he had been raised, with the love of both his parents, then he wouldn't end up making the mistakes he had when he grew up. Like running away and living poor for years and watching his friends die, he didn't want to see his children suffering like that, none of them, but especially not his baby boy.

So today the family had gathered in the dining room for the young lads special day as the cook had prepared a special cake for him. Léon was sat on Marius's lap and he looked adorable in his smart little sailor suit, Marius kept bouncing him up and down on his knee and he was laughing happily until Cosette instructed the children to sing _Happy Birthday _to him. Poor little Leon didn't like this, he covered his ears with his little hands and looked like he was on the verge of crying until Marius wrapped his arms tighter around him to reassure the boy.

"Aww, my poor little man" Marius said to the boy when the children had finished the song, "It's alright, it's your special day today, don't be scared". And then he kissed his little face softly.

He cheered up immensely when he was given a big piece of cake though, sweets seemed to be a common ground when it came to the Pontmercy children, they might all have had different personalities, but they were all agreed that cake was the best thing in the world.  
Marius helped Léon to eat his piece as he seemed to just want to use his hands to shovel it into his mouth, even with adult supervision though more of it seemed to end up on his face than in his mouth but that only made him look even more adorable than he usually was, if a little stickier.

After everyone had eaten cake the family gathered together in the parlour so the other children could play or do whatever they liked, Léon was sat on Cosettes lap now and he was starting to feel tired from the days celebrations, he was getting a little cranky and his head was lolling onto Cosettes shoulder.

"I think this little man needs a nap" Cosette said to Marius after looking at his tired little face

"He's had too much excitement today" Marius said looking at him and agreeing with his wife, "Here I'll take him up" he said as he stood to take the boy out of Cosettes arms.

"Sleep tight my beautiful boy" Cosette said as she kissed him and handed him to Marius, who held him close as he took him away, his little head was now fallen onto Marius's shoulder as he was half asleep already.

Later that day Cosette had finished putting the other children to bed when she walked into her bedroom, Marius was watching over Léon as he was sleeping in his cot, he beckoned her over to him and he put his arms around her waist as she happily watched over him as well.

"Can you believe he's already a year old?" Marius asked with a smile on his face

"No" Cosette replied, slightly sadly "But then I can't believe how fast any of them have grown up. I never thought we'd have five of them did you?"

"No, never. But I'm so glad we do". He told her "I wouldn't do without them anymore Cosette, especially not this little one. He's amazing; I think he got all of our best features".

A sneaky thought flashed through Cosettes mind as he said that, and she couldn't resist the opportunity to tease her husband.

"No dear" she said with a sly smile "he has your nose".

Marius laughed quietly as he realised he had walked right into that trap, he pressed his lips to Cosettes ear and whispered "You're cruel" to her, then kissed her hair gently.

* * *

That evening Marius got into bed next to his wife and he wrapped an arm around her, when he had gotten comfortable he started kissing her gently on the neck and worked his way up to her face, he kissed her lips softly as he started positioning himself between her legs, clearly he was interested in some physical activity tonight.

Cosette had been meaning to ask him something lately, and this seemed like the best time to bring it up. "Marius?" she said as he was kissing her face gently

"Yes?" he replied, concentrating on kissing her and not any kind of conversation at that moment

"I want to have another baby" she said suddenly, which seemed to get his attention. He stopped what he was doing and pulled up to look her in the eye.

"Do you really Cosette?" He asked, with perhaps a sense of apprehension in his voice.

"I really do Marius, more than anything" She said seriously

Truthfully, Marius wasn't sure if he wanted another child, he felt like five children was plenty enough for him. But he loved Cosette more than anything in the world and who was he to deny her something she wanted so badly? It's not like they had any control over how many children they would have anyway. Besides, Marius knew it would be fun for him and Cosette to try for another. That thought alone won him over that night when Cosette said she wanted another baby.

"Well I don't think there's any harm in trying is there Cosette?" Marius said with a smile, kissing her again.

They didn't need to say anything else after that; Marius moved one his hands downwards and slid it under Cosettes nightgown, moving the soft fabric upwards slowly. Cosette shut her eyes for a moment, enjoying the feel of his hands on her skin. "Are you sure he's asleep?" she whispered to her husband, thinking about their baby in the cot in the corner.

"I'm sure" Marius whispered back without actually checking "Don't worry". And that was all Cosette needed to hear before she let her husband undress her completely that night.


	5. Victoire

**Summary: What will Marius and Cosette name their youngest child?**

It was a wonderfully bright June day when Cosette awoke from a sleep she had so badly needed one afternoon, she had given birth to her sixth child early that morning and Marius had told her to get some rest as it had truly exhausted her. It had taken all night and it had been a difficult birth and what was worse they thought the baby was stillborn because it wasn't moving or making a sound when it was born. But through some miracle it had begun to cry and both Marius and Cosette were relieved beyond belief to hear that sound. After all the pain and the worry and the sheer terror they had both been through that morning they were both overjoyed to have another beautiful baby girl in the house again.

Cosette rose from the bed slowly, she was still sore from the birth so she knew she should take it easy today, but she wanted to be with her baby so badly as well and she knew Marius had taken her to meet her siblings already.

Cosette decided not to get fully dressed, she hadn't been allowed to wear corsets anyway for months and it was too much effort today so she changed into a fresh nightdress and put on her dressing gown as well. She fixed her hair into a single plait and decided she was presentable. _Surely_ _if there's one day a woman shouldn't have to look her best it's the day she gives birth!_ She thought to herself.

She made her way downstairs slowly, easing herself back into physical activity and made her way to the parlour where the rest of the family were, she could tell because she could hear the sounds of her children playing.

She opened the door quietly and saw the rest of the family happily entertaining themselves, Marius was on a chaise holding the new baby in his arms and for a moment Cosette remembered back to eight years ago when she had stood and watched Marius playing with baby Marie in that exact same spot. She smiled as she felt like she had been taken back in time for a few seconds, except now there were six children in the house and not one, for a brief moment she felt very contented with her life, she felt like this was as perfect as it could get.

Five year old Isabel was the first one to notice her, "Maman!" she called out as she noticed her in the doorway which made everyone look in the same direction at once.  
Isabel ran up to her mother and threw her arms around her waist with a bit more force than she probably knew she possessed for a five-year old.

"Ooof" Cosette said, slightly knocked back, "Be careful sweetheart I'm fragile today. But it's nice to see you too my dear".

Cosette made her way over to Marius whom she greeted with a kiss and sat down next to him and the baby.

"How are you feeling?" Marius asked her as she took her place next to him.

"Better now that I've slept, thank you" she told him "How's the baby?" she asked looking down at the little girl; she had one of her little hands gripped around one of Marius's fingers which was an adorable sight to see.

"She's wonderful, look, she won't let go of my finger" Marius said with a smile

"That's because she knows you're her papa" she said sweetly "I wouldn't let go of you either"

"I know" Marius said with a devious smile, "That's how we ended up with babies in the first place".

"Marius!" Cosette gasped, scandalized by his comment, she motioned towards the other children, but bless them they were too young to know what he was hinting at.  
The baby started fussing a little in Marius's arms at that moment, and he handed the little girl to Cosette who held her close to her chest, she realised it was the first time she had held her since she was born that morning, Marius had gotten all of her attention most of the day today as Cosette needed sleep desperately, not that she felt resentful at him for that, it was quite sweet actually, but she was so glad to be able to hold her baby again.

"Oh she's so beautiful isn't she?" Cosette said, not to anyone in particular, she was just thinking out loud, "I'd forgotten how small they were".

Actually she had, it had been nearly three years since she had held a new-born in her arms, they grew up so quickly that she had forgotten how small they would be to begin with, for some reason Cosette had thought her girls seemed smaller when they were babies than her boys had been, but perhaps she was just imagining it, she could never tell for sure.

"We need a name for this little one" Cosette said to Marius all of a sudden, "We never did come to an agreement about one did we?"

"Actually" Marius said smiling, "The children came up with some ideas, didn't you?" he said looking at the other children who were sitting gathered on the floor.

"I didn't" said Courfeyrac, who was looking glum.

"Why not?" asked Cosette, surprised at the boy.

"Because I wanted a brother, you can't play with girls". He said mischievously

"That's not true, girls can play just as good as boys" added Marie fiercely

"No they can't, girls can't be pirates!" announced Courfeyrac

"Girls don't want to be pirates, pirates are horrible" Marie informed him

"Ahem!" Marius interrupted, before a fight broke out between the children, Courfeyrac was currently obsessed with pirates and was always playing at pirating with Jean in the garden. "We're not having the pirate argument again! Now Marie, why don't you tell your mother the name you picked?

"Yes Papa" said Marie "Maman, I like the name Sophie"

"Sophie's very nice dear" said Cosette "Jean what did you come up with?"

"Adele" the boy simply said, with a smile.

"Oh that's lovely" Cosette said and she looked down at the baby, "I'm not sure if she looks like a Sophie or an Adele though".

"What about you Isabel, you had a nice suggestion didn't you?" Marius asked his daughter

"I think she should be called Therese" said Isabel proudly

"Good choice" said Marius, "What do you think Cosette?" he asked, turning to his wife

"It's nice, but she doesn't feel like a Therese sweetheart" she said to her daughter

"Courfeyrac are you still abstaining? He said to his son using a word he knew his son didn't fully understand, and he replied by nodding smugly, still clearly not impressed with his baby sister.

"Well it looks like we're stuck for now" Marius said, "Unless you have an idea León" He motioned to his youngest boy to come to him, who did so, toddling over sweetly as little boys do, he was only two at the moment so he didn't fully understand what was happening that morning but he was glad to be getting some attention again instead of it all going to the new baby.

Marius picked up León and placed him onto his lap, "Do you know what we should call the new baby?" he asked teasingly to the little boy who just replied with one of the few words he knew out of his limited vocabulary.

"Baby!" He said sweetly, pointing at the new arrival in Cosettes arms

"Good choice" he said to his little boy, "I think we should name her baby, don't you Cosette?"

Cosette laughed a little at the idea, _how sweet of León to add a suggestion though _she thought, "Maybe not" she said to Marius, before turning back to the baby girl in her arms.

"Don't worry little one, we'll find you a name. And it'll be perfect I promise". She said to the little girl before kissing her forehead softly.

* * *

Later that day Cosette was putting the baby in the cot in the corner of her bedroom when Marius walked in looking pleased with himself, Cosette quickly put a finger over her lips to signal for him to be quiet.

"Cosette" he whispered "I think I have the perfect name for her" he said as he motioned for her to sit beside him on their bed

"Really?" she asked him, speaking softly "What is it?"

"Well.…" he began, "I think she's a very special girl to have been born in June Cosette and you know how this month is important to me because of the rebellion I took part in all those years ago. I know it was a failure, and I know it ended tragically, but to me it was a victory Cosette. And I want to honour that victory by naming her Victoire, what do you think?

"Victoire" she said, trying it out on her tongue, she smiled as she realised it was the perfect name for her daughter. "I think it's beautiful Marius"

"And besides" he continued "I thought we had lost her when she was born this morning, but thank God we didn't, she feels like a victory to me Cosette, I think it should be her name.

"Yes, it should, it's perfect Marius" she said wrapping her arms around him and kissing him on the lips, "I love you, it's a beautiful name".

Marius stood up again and led Cosette back to the babys cot where she was sleeping soundly. He reached out to stroke his daughters little face gently with his fingers, he had a tear in his eye as he remembered how terrified he was that very morning as he thought she had been stillborn. It had affected him deeply knowing how close he had come to losing her, he could tell Cosette felt the same way as well, it was almost too terrifying to even think about and yet they couldn't help but think about it.

"Victoire Pontmercy" Marius said quietly and with a smile on his face, "You're my little victory sweetheart, please don't ever forget that, because I know I won't".


	6. Six is enough

**Ok, i know my grammar sucks, people keep reminding me of that! There's a reason for it, i didnt go to school when i was a kid so i've never learnt proper grammar or punctuation. I'm in my mid 20's and i dont see the point of learning it now so just forgive me for the errors please because it's not likely to improve.**

* * *

**Summary: The Pontmercys are a complete family.**

The Pontmercys were on an outing today, it was Marius and Cosettes wedding anniversary so they had decided to take the children out for the day to their favourite place, the Luxembourg gardens. They would spend time alone later that evening but for the afternoon they wanted to treat the children to a day out as well, after all they weren't just celebrating each other they were celebrating the whole family too, that was what their marriage was all about.

The gardens were a very special place to the family, it was where Marius and Cosette had first laid eyes on each other of course, and over the years as they had added to their family they would take the children there to play. They had told them that this was the place where their mama and papa had fallen in love, but they were children and they didn't really understand this yet, all they wanted to do was play so Marius and Cosette were content to just watch them have fun as they sat together on their bench.

That same bench where Cosette had sat with her father all those years ago was still there, and whenever she got the chance Cosette would choose to sit there with Marius so she could be with him and feel close to her father at the same time, it was wonderful being there with her husband and her children, it was her past and her future combined in one place, it was her favourite spot in Paris, if not the whole world in fact.

So that's where they were sat today, watching their children playing by the fountain. The boys had made boats to sail in the water and the girls were watching them race them. It was marvellous to see them all playing together happily, the oldest at ten years old and their youngest just two and the others in-between were all enjoying the warm day and the boat race the boys had concocted.

Cosette had a smile on her face as she watched her children at play, Marius had his hand in hers as he took in the joys of the day, his children were happy, his wife was happy and he was happy. They had been married for eleven years and had six children together and they felt complete. If this was as good as life could get then both of them couldn't be happier with everything they had right now.

"What are you thinking about?" Marius asked his wife as he noticed the happy expression on her face.

"Oh nothing" she said playfully, "I was just thinking that six is a good number. I think I'm happy with six children".

"I am as well Cosette" Marius replied "but I thought we were going to let God decide how many children we should have?"

"We will" Cosette told him, "but I don't know Marius, ever since we had Victoire I feel complete, I feel like we're complete now as a family.

Marius smiled at his wife, actually he had been feeling exactly the same way ever since his youngest child came into the world, he couldn't explain it, but it was exactly like Cosette had said, he felt complete.  
"I know what you mean Cosette, I feel like that too" Marius said "Perhaps six new Pontmercys is more than enough for the world".

"Perhaps" Cosette said happily

Marius smiled again at his wife, "I don't think it means we should stop trying though, do you?" he said playfully to her as he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it

"Oh definitely not" she said smiling back at him flirtatiously. Then she took a deep breath in and closed her eyes for a moment, breathing out happily again a moment later.

"Can you believe it all started right here?" she asked him

"No, I can't believe any of it" Marius told his wife "I still can't believe I'm married to you Cosette. I'm so lucky"

"Not as lucky as I am" Cosette replied blissfully.


	7. Storms

**Summary: Isabel is scared of storms and interrupts some intimate time of her parents.**

One winters night when all six of the Pontmercy children were asleep in their beds Cosette was feeling slightly worried about them, there was a storm brewing outside and Cosette knew some of the younger ones might be scared tonight. They had been put to bed hours ago and when Marius and herself were getting ready for bed themselves she couldn't help but want to go check on them.

Her three sons shared one room, and she went into their room first to check on her boys and they were all sleeping soundly, even her youngest boy Léon who was only three was peaceful that night. Her two older daughters were in the next room and as she checked over them she smiled upon seeing that they were too sleeping safe and sound and undisturbed. Cosette was reassured for the night as she shut the door quietly to her daughters room and headed to her own bedroom.  
She walked in quietly and greeted Marius as he was finishing dressing for bed, "Are they alright?" he inquired.

"They're all fine, they're asleep. I don't think any of them will be disturbed by the storm" she told him, as she walked over to the cot in the corner to check on her youngest daughter Victoire who was just over a year old at the time. She too was sound asleep, happily sucking her thumb, which made Cosette smile again as she watched her.

A short time later after Cosette had changed into her nightdress and brushed her hair she joined Marius in bed. She curled up against him as he put one arm around her and smiled, he knew exactly how to distract her from the storm outside, and any worries about the children.

He started out by kissing her lips softly, to which she responded by kissing him back unreservedly, clearly they were both feeling amorous tonight so they didn't hesitate to get things moving along. Marius stroked a hand gently over Cosettes breasts and then positioned himself between her legs, he was busy kissing her neck gently that he barely noticed the roll of thunder that growled from outside, he was so preoccupied with kissing her face and neck that he didn't hear their bedroom door open quietly a few minutes later either, but Cosette did.

She gently pushed him away from her with a smile, "Marius, I think we have company" she said softly to him.

At first he didn't understand what she meant by that and he looked at her with a curious expression on his face for a moment, until she turned his face to the side with her hand and he saw his six year old daughter Isabel standing timidly in their doorway.

Marius quickly and awkwardly moved himself off his wife which made Cosette laugh quietly to herself at his bashfulness. This wasn't the first time one of their children had wandered into their bedroom after they should have been asleep, but it was the first time they had been interrupted in the middle of something quite intimate. Cosette felt quite glad that they hadn't been any further along right then, that would have been mortifying for everyone.

"Isabel…." Marius said, trying to hide the embarrassment in his voice, "You're being very naughty, what are you doing out of bed? Even though he already knew what was wrong.

"I'm scared, there's a storm". The little girl said, shrinking into herself as she heard another small roll of thunder from outside.

"Aww sweetheart" Marius said softly to the girl, "Come here then" he said beckoning the girl over to the bed. This had happened before when one of their children had been scared of something, they would let them sleep in their bed to comfort them until their fears went away.

This time though Isabel didn't come over immediately, she looked at her parents for a moment with an inquisitive look on her face. She was curious as to what she had seen her parents doing when she walked in, she had never seen her papa lying on top of her mother like that before.

"What were you doing to maman?" she asked innocently, as only a child can do.

Cosette had to stop herself from laughing out loud at that moment, and managed to stifle back a quiet giggle that escaped from her mouth, again she felt so relieved inside that they hadn't been any further along that night.

"We were just cuddling Isabel" Marius said with a small smile on his face as even he tried not to laugh at that moment. "Now come on up sweetheart" he said patting the mattress next to him.

Isabel tottered over to the bed and Marius helped her up and placed her under the covers between himself and Cosette.  
Little Isabel, out of all their children was the most delicate one. She could often be scared a lot easier than her elder sister and her brothers and she seemed to need to be sheltered more often than the others. It was so odd to think that she was the twin of their son Courfeyrac who was unbelievably boisterous all the time; he was the exact opposite of Isabel who was their dainty and timid little girl. All their children each had their own special quirks and foibles, and being the scaredy cat seemed to be Isabels.

Cosette felt sorry for Isabel as she snuggled in-between them that night, she remembered being scared of storms like this when she was a little girl, she remembered doing the exact same thing as her daughter right now, she would climb into her papas bed and he would comfort her all through the night.

Marius ran his fingers lightly through Isabels blonde hair as she settled down easily now that she was safe with her parents.  
"Do you feel better now?" he asked her, and she nodded happily nestled between them.

"You know sweetheart, storms can't hurt you, they're just loud that's all. There's really nothing to be scared of". Marius told his little girl

"I know papa" said Isabel quietly, "But they still scare me"

"I used to be scared of storms when I was a little girl" added Cosette "And I used to do exactly what you do Isabel, I would climb into my papas bed and he would keep me safe all night".

"Aren't you scared of them anymore maman?" asked Isabel

"No, and do you know why?" Cosette said with a smile

"Why Maman?" asked Isabel

"Because now I get to sleep here with your papa, he makes me feel safe all night now. So don't worry, because even if you're still scared of storms when you grow up someone will always be there to keep you safe sweetheart". Cosette said as Marius looked at her with the most loving expression on his face.

After a little while Isabel fell back to sleep again, feeling safe and sound between her parents she didn't take long to overcome her fears that night. Cosette looked over at her and noticed she was down for the night again.

"Marius" she whispered, "she's asleep"

"Are you sure" he whispered back

"Yes, she's definitely out" she assured him

"Alright then" he said as he gently lifted the covers off him and slid out of the bed, he put a finger over his lips for a moment as he reminded Cosette to stay quiet and then he gently slipped his hands underneath Isabel and picked her up into his arms, she didn't stir once the entire time.

"I'll be right back" Marius whispered to his wife, and then he headed out of the bedroom with the sleeping child in his arms.  
He took Isabel back to the bedroom she shared with Marie and gently placed the girl on her bed, then he tucked the blankets around her again and kissed her hair gently when he was finished. He checked on Marie as well for good measure and left the girls bedroom quietly shutting the door behind him.

When he returned to his bedroom he had a mischievous smile on his face again as he slipped back under the covers and put his arm back around Cosettes waist. He kissed her lips again softly and whispered "Where were we?" to her.

She smiled back at him and took his hand that was around her waist and placed it gently over one of her breasts again, "I think you were here" she told him with a coy smile

"Really? I was here already?" he said, caressing her lovingly "Well it does feel familiar"

Marius started kissing her neck again, and Cosette sighed gently as he kept going, and this time they weren't disturbed by anyone at all for the entire night.


	8. Storytime

**Summary: Cosette tells her children a bedtime story.**

Cosette was alone with her children one summers evening, she had five of them so far and another one was on the way. In fact she was seven months gone with her sixth child. Marius was away working on a case outside of Paris and he had been gone for a week already, he didn't like leaving his family, especially when Cosette was so heavily pregnant, but it was important for his career that he go and so he went. Cosette understood, but she still felt lonely without him. During the days she would have the nanny to talk to as well as Nicolette, and the children kept her busy as well, but the nights when she slept alone in her bedroom was when she felt the loneliness the hardest.

The children had been quite mopey for the first few days that he was gone, but now they were getting used to it. This wasn't the first time their father had gone away because of his job but they were still upset about it. He had sat them all down and explained to them about his job and how it meant he sometimes had to help people who didn't live in Paris and they had understood this. It didn't make it any easier on them each time he went away though.

Cosette looked at the clock in the parlour and noticed it was nearly bedtime for the children, they were happily playing on the floor with some of their toys, but it was time for them to put them away now, but not before one last bit of fun for the night.

"Alright children" Cosette announced "Who wants a story before bedtime?"

All four of her childrens hands shot into the air at that moment and a chorus of childish voices saying "Me mama, I want a story" was heard.

"Alright then, gather round" she said pointing to the floor next to her chair. The children shifted themselves from where they were playing and sat themselves in a row beneath Cosettes feet like little red Indians, sat upright and with arms folded.

"Which story would you like tonight then?" Cosette asked, she had told many stories to the children before, and she knew which ones were the childrens favourites by now.

"Mama tell the story about Euphrasie and the giant!" exclaimed the eldest child Marie before anyone else could suggest a story.

"Yes mama please tell that one!" added Isabel

"We've heard that story a hundred times before" Courfeyrac butted in, ever the rebel of the group

"That's because it's the best story!" Said Marie

"_Euphrasie and the giant_ it is then. Courfeyrac I promise you can pick a story next time" she said sweetly.

And so that night Cosette began telling the children a beloved fairytale she had told them many times before.

"_Once upon a time there was a little girl called…?"_

She motioned towards her children to complete the sentence, which they did

"Euphrasie!" they all called out

"Very good!" Cosette said happily, glad that they had been paying attention

"_Euphrasie was a very sad little girl, you see children she was an orphan who had been left in the care of a kindly old lady when she was just a tiny baby. Her mother had died and the old lady had promised that she would look after little Euphrasie forever and ever. But what no one knew was that she wasn't a kindly old lady at all, she was an evil witch in disguise who kidnapped Euphrasie and kept her prisoner in a hovel buried deep in a cold dark wood._

_Euphrasie grew up knowing she should be very afraid of the witch, she was treated like a slave and the witch punished her and hurt her all the time no matter how hard she tried to please the witch"._

"Mama, why didn't Euphrasie ever run away? Asked Courfeyrac

"She couldn't, because the evil witch had cast a spell on her meaning she could never run no matter how many times she tried to. The poor girl was trapped under the witches spell forever".

"_Euphrasie cried a lot when she was a little girl, which only made the witch treat her even worse than usual. She prayed every night for someone to rescue her and to destroy the evil witch, but no one ever came to help her. She was so afraid all the time, and so very cold. _

_But there was one place that the witch couldn't hurt her, in her dreams. Every night Euphrasie would dream about a castle on a cloud where she could play all day long with other children and that she would have all the toys in the world to play with as well, it was the only place Euphrasie was free to be happy"._

"You see children, there is one place that can never be touched by anyone else's cruelty, your dreams will always be yours and yours alone, please don't ever forget that my darlings" Said Cosette before she continued with the story again.

"_So…one night little Euphrasie had been sent to collect water from the cold and scary woods that she feared so much, she knew she had to be quick otherwise the witch would punish her even worse than usual for being slow, but it was so very cold outside and the bucket she had to carry was so heavy that she could barely even lift it. Euphrasie began to cry even louder and harder that night for someone to rescue her from the nightmare she was living"._

"And that night her prayers were answered children, because suddenly Euphrasie looked up, and what was there standing next to her my dears?" She asked

"A giant!" Said Jean excitedly!

"That's right, it was a giant! Said Cosette to her eldest son

"_Euphrasie had never seen another person in those woods, because everyone was too scared of the witch to go into it, but giants aren't afraid of anything, and so there he was._

_Euphrasie wasn't scared of him, because this was a friendly giant, he smiled kindly to her and took the bucket from her which weighed nothing to him, because he was a big strong giant and not a tiny little girl like she was._

_He told Euphrasie that he had answered her prayers, he had been sent from an angel in heaven to rescue her from the evil witch._

_And that's what he did children! He picked up little Euphrasie into his big strong arms and stomped through the woods all the way back to the evil witches house, and for the first time in her life Euphrasie saw that the witch was scared. So scared she was shaking in her shoes! The witch tried to use a spell on the giant but before she could cast any magic the giant lifted up his foot and stomped on the witch until she was a pile of dust!"_

"Hooray!" Cheered Courfeyrac, excited at the idea of violence towards witches which made Cosette smile sweetly at him before she continued with the story.

"_With the witch finally defeated all of her magic spells were suddenly broken forever and Euphrasie was free! The giant then picked her up again and told her that she would never again be anyones slave and even more amazingly the giant told her that he was going to be her father from now on. Euphrasie had finally gotten the father she had always wished for, in the form of a big friendly giant." _

"Sometimes God sends his gifts in the strangest of packages children," Cosette said "But you should never be afraid of them when they arrive".

_"So the giant took little Euphrasie away from that evil dark woods and took her to the one place she had been dreaming about all her life._ And where was that my dears?

"The castle on the cloud mama!" Said Isabel

"_That's right, the castle on a cloud. It was a beautiful castle, and she was so happy there. She spent her days playing with other children and with lots of toys and every night she would sleep happily being watched over by the giant who loved her so very much. He never asked anything of Euphrasie except that she love him as a father in return, which she did, because he was the friendliest kindest giant in the entire world. Who wouldn't love someone like that? He had given her everything she had ever wanted"._

Cosette paused for a moment, feeling herself getting upset over this thinly disguised portrayal of her childhood she was reciting to her children, she always did when she told this story to them, she couldn't help it. However, she continued anyway, not wanting to disappoint her babies.

"_Many years passed and Euphrasie grew up into a beautiful young lady in the castle on the cloud with the giant looking after her, she thought she would never want to leave the cloud until one day something changed, A young man fell in love with her and she fell in love with him in return.  
Euphrasie would sneak out of the castle at night to be with the young man and they would sit together for hours under the stars imagining the future they could have together. It was a very happy time for Euphrasie, because even though she loved her father very much she knew that when she was a grown up she would one day like to fall in love with someone, and she did._

_One day the young man finally got up the courage to ask Euphrasie to marry him"_ and do you know what Euphrasie said to him children?

"She said yes Mama!" said Marie happily

"That's right dear, she said yes. Yes yes yes! She would marry the young man she had fallen in love with and she would be happy with him forever". Cosette said euphorically

"_Euphrasie was so happy that she would be married soon and she wanted her father to be happy as well for her, but what she didn't know was that there was still a magic spell at work after all those happy years she had spent with the giant on the cloud._

_You see, the giant knew that he could only be Euphrasies father as long as she wasn't married, if she ever fell in love with someone it would break the giants heart so badly that it could never be repaired and the giant would die. He knew this and he was already growing weaker every day Euphrasie spent with the young man, but he never told her any of this because the only thing he ever wanted in his life was for Euphrasie to be happy, and he could see how much happiness that nice young man brought her so he didn't tell either of them how much it was hurting him"._

Cosette paused again, to compose herself before reaching the end of the fairytale. She smiled at her children again and continued

"_Finally Euphrasies wedding day arrived and she was happier than she ever thought she could be, she loved the young man so much that she couldn't wait to start her life with him. He was the second man she had ever known that had given her love in her life and she was so grateful to him. _

_But as soon as she was married her father the giant collapsed in agony, clutching at his heart. _

_Euphrasie rushed to his side, but there was nothing she could do, the giant was dying and nobody could help him._

_Euphrasie begged the giant to let her help him, but he just told her that she couldn't help him because the magic was too powerful. He explained to her about the spell, that he could only live as long as she was his, but he didn't want to tell her about it because the only thing he ever wanted was for her to be happy and he could see how happy she was with the young man and he couldn't be the one to tell her she shouldn't have happiness in her life_

_He told her that it had been his job to look after her and to love her as his daughter, but now his job was done and it was time for him to go. But he was happy to give Euphrasie to the young man she had married because now it was his job to make her happy and keep her safe and love her._

_The giant then grew weak and with his last breath he told her to live a long and happy life and to always be happy. And before he died, he told Euphrasie that he loved her, and she told him how much she had loved him. Because she did love him so much, he was her father, the only father she had ever known and he had been the first person who had ever loved her._

_After the giant died Euphrasie was very sad for a long time. But then she realised that even though she missed her father very much she would do as he asked and live a happy life for him, because that's all he ever wanted for her even though she hadn't realised it when he was alive"_

"Sometimes my dears you never really know how much a person or even a giant means to you until they're gone. And that's a shame; because we should cherish the people we love while they're still here and not wait until it's too late.

Cosette could feel herself getting upset again, but she fought back the tears that she still felt inside of her even after so many years without her father.

"So children, do you know what happened to Euphrasie?"

"I know mama!" said Isabel with a smile

"What happened to her Isabel?" asked Cosette

"She lived happily ever after!" Said Isabel proudly

"That's right, she did". Said Cosette happily. And with that, storytime was over and the children applauded their mother for the fairytale she had told them.

* * *

A little while later after Cosette had tucked the children in for the night, Isabel had something on her mind that she needed to ask, since she shared a bedroom with Marie she decided that her sister was the best person to ask at that moment.

"Marie?" Said Isabel, her tiny voice carrying in the darkness of the room

"What?" said Marie sleepily

"Is mama the real Euphrasie from the story?" Isabel asked her big sister whom she looked up to as the source of all information that her parents couldn't provide

"Don't be so silly Isabel" said Marie very matter of factly, "It's just a fairytale"

"But then why does mama get so sad when she tells it?" Asked Isabel

"Because she's a good storyteller that's all, now go to sleep" Marie told her sister

"I think she's the real girl from the story Marie". Said Isabel, believing her mother to be a very special woman indeed.

"She can't be Isabel" said Marie, getting a little annoyed with her little sister now

"Why not?" said Isabel, not wanting to believe Marie

"Because Mamas name isn't Euphrasie, it's Cosette, you know that" added Marie, thereby ending the debate.

"Oh…." Said Isabel, a little sadly. She didn't have anything else to say to that. Marie was older than her and she knew more about the world than she did so she must have been right about this Isabel thought to herself.

"Goodnight then Marie" She said instead

"Goodnight Isabel" Marie replied

Isabel turned over on her bed to go to sleep, despite what Marie had said to her Isabel decided that she still wanted to believe that her mother was the real Euphrasie from the story she had told.

What Isabel didn't know was that she was right to believe that, because it was in fact the truth after all.

* * *

**You can be as brutal as you want about this chapter, I don't mind :)  
**


	9. Pregnancy

**Summary: Cosette doesn't know how to feel about her fifth pregnancy.**

Two months ago the Pontmercy twins had turned two years old, and they were deemed old enough by their parents to begin sleeping in their own bedroom from now on and not with mama and papa.

It was a great day for everyone, Marius and Cosette especially. They had their bedroom to themselves again and they didn't waste any time in taking advantage of that fact. They shared a wonderful night together; they showed each other how much they loved each other all over again, making love tenderly and slowly, not rushing anything and just experiencing each other again. They had made love countless times during their marriage, and it was still amazing each time, they had not lost one iota of passion during their marriage, they still loved each other just as much as they always had.

So two months after that night Cosette had some news for Marius. She had been fairly certain about something for a couple of weeks now and she thought she should tell her husband about it soon.

She had laughed to herself when she had noticed the first symptoms; it was such a ridiculous situation. She had done the calculation in her head and she thought how ironic it had been that the night they had celebrated their youngest children moving out of their bedroom they had unwittingly conceived another one.

That night after the children had been put to bed Cosette joined her husband in the parlour to enjoy some time to themselves, their children were lovely, and they enjoyed being with them, but my god they could be a handful sometimes, so those few hours they had together when the children were asleep were very precious to the young couple.

Cosette sat down next to her husband after having tucked the children in for the night and sighed in relief. "I think children are at their best when their eyes are shut" She said happily

"I couldn't agree more" Marius said turning to his wife and putting an arm around her, savouring the fact that he had her all to himself for the night.

"Are you happy with four children?" she asked him, figuring that this was the best time to tell him her news.

"I'm very happy with four, why do you ask?" he said inquisitively

"Because I think it's going to be five soon Marius" she said putting her hand over her stomach.

Marius sat stunned for a moment as he registered this information. In the beginning of his marriage to Cosette he had said that he wanted as many children as God sent, but after having four he wondered just how many God was going to send him. It wasn't that he didn't love them; it's just that he thought four was plenty enough.  
As he looked at his wife though that night and realised what she was saying he knew he had been so selfish in thinking that. The second he realised she was pregnant again he knew he already loved that child just as much as his others.

"Are you sure?" he said softly, still stunned.

"Well I haven't spoken to a doctor yet obviously, but I have all the symptoms I had with the others. It's still early yet, not even three months, but yes Marius, I'm sure". Cosette said happily.

"Oh Cosette….." He said with a smile now on his face "That's wonderful" He brought her into and embrace and held her for a moment "I'll have a doctor arranged to see you tomorrow darling, then we'll find out for certain"

"I take it you're happy about this then?" she asked him as she broke away from him gently.

"Of course I am, aren't you happy?" he asked, slightly concerned

"I am Marius it's just that…." she said, hesitating before she finished the sentence.

"What? You can tell me" he said

"I really hope it's not twins again" she said with a smile

Marius laughed softly and then kissed her forehead. He felt the same way; just the one baby would be nice this time he thought, and no more twins, one set was enough.

* * *

Several months later Cosette's pregnancy was well underway. The baby was growing normally and Cosette was healthy just as she had been in all her other pregnancies. In fact that was the only problem Cosette had with the whole thing, it was _another_ pregnancy. For Marius it seemed like the novelty of having children hadn't worn off yet, which was good in its own ways but also had its down sides. He was excited about having another baby, he was attentive to Cosette and always made sure she was taking care of herself, which she was very grateful for, because there are worse things in the world to have than an attentive husband she thought. But he didn't have to deal with the months of discomfort and the pain of childbirth, Cosette did, and she couldn't help but feel a little annoyed by that sometimes.

It wasn't that she didn't want this baby; it was just that she was having mixed feelings about the whole thing. For her, having been through childbirth three times and having had four babies, the whole pregnancy thing had gotten old very quickly. Not that she had told Marius any of this, she just showed him the happy pregnant woman he wanted to see.

So as the pregnancy progressed Marius was still fascinated by everything that was happening to Cosette, whereas for her it was nothing special anymore, she just wanted it to be done with. She often pondered why it had to take nine months to have a baby, it was such a long time to carry a baby around, it was such a long time to be uncomfortable and swollen and having to feel nauseous and unattractive.

"_God certainly gives women the cross to bear_" Cosette thought to herself

With this pregnancy Cosette felt like she was just going through the motions, she had barely felt anything for it yet; it was just monotony for her at the moment.  
One evening though, something changed. It was a normal evening, the family were gathered in the parlour and the children were playing happily before bedtime when suddenly Cosette gasped and placed a hand on her stomach.

Marius, who was sat next to her, practically jumped out of his seat. "What's wrong?" he asked almost right away.

"Nothing….." she said softly, a smile slowly growing on her face "Marius, it kicked!"

There it was, that excitement she had used to feel about pregnancy was back. The way she had felt during her pregnancy with Marie and Jean, when it was all new, she had just felt it again when she felt this new baby move inside her. _"Oh thank God" _Cosette thought to herself.  
She had in fact begun to worry that she wasn't feeling the same about this baby than the others, she thought there was something wrong with her this time, she felt horrible about it, like she wasn't going to be able to love this baby the same as her others.

But as soon as she had felt it kick, she knew she loved it. It was truly a miracle growing inside her and suddenly she couldn't wait to meet her new baby. _"Why does it take so long to have a baby!_" she thought "_I want to see what it looks like, I want to hold it in my arms, God help me I even want to hear it cry already!"_

Cosette grabbed Marius's hand and placed it over her stomach so he could feel the baby move, which he did when it kicked again a few minutes later, they both felt so happy right then for different reasons, Marius because he was so excited about his new baby anyway, and Cosette because she was finally feeling excited about the whole pregnancy.

Their eldest child Marie tottered over to her parents at that moment, curious at what was happening.

"Maman, what's wrong?" she said in her cute five year old way.

Marius picked up Marie and placed her on his lap next to her mother, "Nothings wrong sweetheart" Marius said, It's just…um" he looked to his wife who gave him permission to continue that sentence

"You can tell her Marius" she said with a smile

"Well Marie, maman has a new baby growing inside her, soon you're going to have another brother or sister to play with, won't that be nice?" Marius explained to her

Marie looked confusedly at her mama and papa for a moment, then said something only a child can say when they're still innocent and endearing.

"How did the baby get in there?" she asked pointing at her mothers tummy.

Cosette suppressed a laugh, and looked at her husband again. "You can tell her Marius!" she repeated, teasing her husband.

"Um well Marie….." he stammered out, "When you're a grown up and you fall in love and get married, you ask God to send you a baby, and sometimes he answers you and puts a tiny seed inside a mama where it grows until it's time to be born".

"You were in here once Marie" Cosette added

"I was?" Asked Marie, surprised by this "I don't remember that!"

"Of course not sweetheart, you were a tiny baby then" Cosette told her daughter

"How did I get out?" Marie asked, still curious

"You can tell her Cosette!" Marius said, this time teasing her instead.

Cosette however just backed out of answering her by telling her to go back to playing, because it was soon her bedtime.

"Coward!" Marius whispered to his wife after Marie had rejoined her siblings and her toys.

* * *

Later on after the children had been put to bed Cosette excused herself and went to bed early, Marius understood of course, he was getting very good at understanding pregnancy. What he didn't know was that she wanted some privacy so she could do something she didn't want Marius to see.

Cosette lay on her bed and placed a hand over her stomach, she began to cry softly to herself.

She had been feeling guilty about not feeling anything for this baby yet, when she had been pregnant before she had loved her babies as soon as she knew they were there, "_Why had it taken so long to love this one_?" she thought. "_Am I horrible for not loving this one? No, because I do love it, I really do". _

Cosette wiped her eyes and stroked her stomach gently, "I'm sorry little one" she whispered to her baby, apologising for taking so long to realise how she felt. "Mama loves you so much; I can't wait to meet you. I can't wait to see what you look like. You don't know this yet but you have a mother and father who are going to love you forever, you have brothers and sisters who can't wait to play with you. I promise you're going to be so loved sweetheart. Please know that I love you already, I love you with all my heart".

Cosette felt a lot better after she had poured her heart out to her baby, it was something she had needed to do and she was glad she did it. She was glad she had done it in private as well, it was a conversation between her and her unborn child and that's exactly where it remained, unseen and unheard by anyone else.

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**Dont be afraid to send me ideas of chapters you'd like to see.**


	10. Cosette, her son and a sore knee

**I wrote this as kind of a sequel to a fic of mine called "Valjean, Cosette and a sore knee". I think it works, and i like writing about Cosette and her son.**

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**Summary: Cosette shares a childhood memory with her son Jean**

Cosette was busying herself one afternoon with some household duties while her children were happily playing in the garden, she missed being a child sometimes and having that freedom to play, she felt like it had passed her by too quickly. Still, she wouldn't give up this life for anything, it was too good.

She had a lot of happy memories from her childhood, mostly because of her father and the love that she had received from him, but she also knew there were some bad ones in there too. She preferred not to think about bad things though, and liked to focus on good memories and the new ones she was creating now with her own children, that was a better way to live than to think about bad things, life was too good to think about bad things.

Suddenly the peace was shattered when she heard one of her children crying and calling for her, it was Jean, her five-year old son and he sounded terrible.

"What is it? What's the matter?" She asked him slightly panicked as he walked back into the house in tears and looking extremely pained.

"Mama I fell over and I hurt my knee" he said through his tears, making more of a fuss than was necessary over a small scrape on his knee. Jean was such a soft little boy compared to his brother Courfeyrac who was a tough little man already. It might have had something to do with the fact that Cosette mothered him too much. She couldn't help it though, he had been her first boy and she was especially fond of him.

"Oh sweetheart" she cooed at him "Let mama see". She knelt down to look at her sons knee, it was a little dirty and scraped but it wasn't bleeding and didn't look too badly hurt. "It doesn't look that bad darling". She said sweetly to him.

"It hurts!" he whined again clutching at his knee.

"Alright, Mama will take care of you, don't worry sweetheart". She said to him as she picked him up and brought him into the kitchen to fix him up. She placed him on a table and found some rags and water and sat in front of him to begin cleaning up his wound.

As Cosette was mending her sons knee that afternoon a memory stirred in her mind and she smiled softly to herself, remembering a time when she fell badly and cut her knee and her father bandaged her up. It was a nice memory, one of the many she had of her father. Sometimes her life now was so busy with children and her husband and managing the household that she didn't have time to think about her past, it was nice to remember her father like this. In fact she decided to share this nice memory with her son to try to settle him down.

"You know sweetheart" Cosette said, "When I was a little girl my father did this exact same thing to me when I hurt my knee once. He took care of me and cleaned me up and put a bandage over it to stop it hurting".

"Really?" he asked, still sniffling through tears.

"Mmm hmm" she nodded, focusing on cleaning him up.

"Why didn't your mama take care of you?" He asked innocently, not knowing anything about her past yet.

Cosette paused for a moment, remembering a painful memory that she would rather not share, but then deciding that her son was old enough now to know the truth.

"My mama died when I was very young, my father was all I had". Cosette told him.

"I'm sorry" Jean told her sweetly, he was a very sensitive little boy, especially to his mothers feelings.

"It's alright my darling" she told her boy "My father was a very good man and I loved him very much, I was very happy with him Jean."

**"**How come I've never met him?" Jean asked, which made Cosette look sad again.

"He died not long after I married your father". She told her boy, very matter of factly. "It was very sad, but it was a long time ago sweetheart".

"Do you miss him?" he asked his mother, now fully calmed down from his ordeal.

Cosette felt herself hold back some tears, in truth she still missed her father every day, but sometimes her life kept her so busy that she had no time to think of him. It was nice for her to have this moment with her son to talk about him.

"I miss him every day sweetheart" She told Jean with a smile "Even when I don't realise it I know that I miss him. He's always a part of me, do you understand that?" She asked, realising that might be a bit too deep for a five-year old to comprehend.

He nodded, not really understanding her but wanting to please his mother so much that he lied.

"In fact, that's where your name comes from Jean. I named you after him so I could keep his memory with me. He was very special to me, and now you're very special to me too. I was very proud to be his daughter and now I'm very proud to be your mother, that's why I gave you his name".

Jean smiled at his mother again, who had just finished cleaning up his knee.

"There we are, all better. Wasn't that a big fuss about nothing? It's not even bleeding see". She said sweetly to her son, who just gave her a sad look as if to say he was still hurting inside.

"Aww, don't give me that look". Cosette said, teasing him "Can you be a tough little man for me today?" But Jean just shook his head.

Cosette smiled at her sweet little boy and then kissed his sore knee softly, "Is that better now?" she asked him and then Jean nodded his head happily.

* * *

A little while later Cosette was sitting in the parlour with Jean in her lap, he needed to feel special today so she made some time to be with just him. He was curling his fingers through her long hair happily as she held him like a baby again.

The little guy fell asleep in his mothers arms that afternoon, it wasn't uncommon for him to need a nap sometimes just like her other children so she let him sleep there happily.  
She loved her son so much; he was a very special little man to her. Cosette loved all of her children equally and she didn't play favourites, but her eldest Marie very much a daddies girl and her twins had each other, so that meant Jean who was in the middle right now was Cosettes very own little boy to cherish.

Cosette ran her fingers through Jeans soft hair gently, not wanting to wake him, she just wanted to enjoy the moment with her son. She had always thought Jean was a very special little boy, she knew it was impossible but she could swear she saw a lot of her father in him and sometimes it made her sad to look at him.

She smiled at him and kissed his hair softly, she hadn't realised it but going over her childhood memories earlier had made her more upset than she thought it would. She missed her father, it hadn't gotten any easier over the years even though she had gotten better at hiding her grief, but she still missed him terribly. She sat there with her sleeping son that afternoon and shed a few tears as she held him. He was all she had of him now even though she knew he wasn't connected to her father by blood at all. Just knowing that he shared her fathers name was enough for her though; as long as she had that then he would always be a part of her, and she thanked God for that.

In fact she thanked God every day just for her father, and even more for her son.


	11. Marius and his baby boy

**Summary: Marius bonds with his youngest boy**

Marius awoke early one morning to a strange sound, but one that was familiar to him as well. It was a sound he hadn't heard in nearly two years and it took him a moment to realise what it was.

He opened his eyes and looked around his bedroom until he located the source of the noise, it was coming from the corner of their bedroom and when he realised what it was he smiled softly.  
Three days ago Cosette had given birth to their fifth child, a son they had named Léon and he was fussing in his little cot in the corner.

Marius sat up gently, not wanting to wake Cosette who was still asleep next to him, and he got out of bed and walked over to the cot.  
Léon was lying there flailing his tiny limbs around; he had kicked himself loose from his swaddling and didn't know how to handle the newfound freedom of movement he was suddenly faced with, which was why he was fussing.  
Marius smiled at him; the poor little man was so helpless right now. He reached down and wrapped his blanket around him again securely and then just looked at the little boy for a moment. He might have been imagining it, but he could swear that Léon was looking up at him with such a needful stare. He probably wasn't even aware of anything around him yet at just three days old, but the little boy seemed to know who his parents were, and they knew when he needed something and right now he needed his father.

"Come here little one" Marius said quietly as he reached down to pick up his son. He held him safely in his arms and smiled, he was such a gorgeous little baby already.  
The novelty of having babies had not worn off yet for Marius, he was still amazed every time Cosette gave birth to another one of his children, it truly was a miracle each time. "_Holding a child of your own in your arms is an amazing feeling_" He thought to himself "_Knowing that you made this baby, knowing that he needs you just as much as you need him, knowing that you'll love this child for the rest of your life, it still feels wonderful every time_".

Marius walked around the room for a while with the boy in his arms trying to settle him again; he was still fussing a little. "What's the matter, are you hungry? Mama's not awake yet son. Please don't wake her yet she needs her rest, she's still tired from having you. Aww, I know it's not your fault, you couldn't help it could you?" He asked his baby boy, even though he couldn't answer. "She loves you little one, but you're very demanding on her so please let her sleep a little longer".

Marius continued holding his baby in his arms and talking to him as he walked around the room and bonded with his son. He was glad to have this time alone with his boy, in the beginning most of the work rests on Cosettes shoulders and Marius always seemed to feel like he had nothing to do until they were older. It was a shame, but that's how it was, child raising was very much womans work and fatherhood came later.

"Do you know who I am? I'm your papa. Do you know how many brothers and sisters you have? You have four, and they all love you so much already and so do I son, you're my little man and I love you".

Marius turned around still holding the baby and noticed that Cosette was awake, looking up at him with a bemused expression on her face.

"Ooops, did we wake you?" Marius asked her and Cosette shook her head, sorry that she had interrupted his moment with his son.

"He was fussing so I thought I should try and settle him" Marius explained

"Look at you with the baby in your arms" Cosette said teasingly with a smile on her face "I haven't seen you this happy since Marie was born"

"Oh that's not true Cosette, I've loved all our babies" Marius said, a little hurt.

"I know, you just look adorable holding him like that". Cosette told him, still half asleep.

"I think he's hungry, can you take him?" Marius said, and she nodded and beckoned him over so she could feed Léon.

Marius handed her the baby and went to sit next to her on the bed while she nursed him, he was still amazed at how she could do that and it didn't feel like an intrusion anymore to watch her breastfeed like it did when they had their first baby. He was never really sure what to do when they were parents for the first time, but they had gotten so used to everything now that they were on their fifth child that everything seemed natural to him now.

"Can I tell you something Cosette?" he asked her as she looked down at her baby boy

"Mmm hmm" she nodded to him

"I would have been happy with just four children, after we had the twins I didn't think we would have any more babies, I felt like we were done after having four. But now that León's here I can't believe I ever thought that, I can't believe how much I love him and I can't imagine him not being here now. I feel a bit guilty for having felt like that Cosette, I feel like he was sent to us for a reason, to prove to us that we're not done having children yet. Do you know what I mean?" he asked his wife.

"I do Marius" she told him, knowing exactly how he felt. "And I understand, I thought we were done after four too, but when I realised I was having this little one and I felt him kick inside me for the first time I knew he was very special. I know he wasn't planned, but none of our children were really planned were they? I don't think we're done having children yet, I think this little man proves that Marius. And just because you felt differently about having him at the beginning doesn't mean you don't feel love for him now, I can tell you love him Marius, I can tell just by seeing you with him. So please don't feel guilty about anything, I think it's perfectly natural to feel like that".

Marius looked at his wife for a moment "_How can she be so smart all the time?"_ he wondered "_She always knows exactly what to say to make me feel better_"

Marius smiled at his wife, "I love you Cosette" he simply said, knowing that was enough to let her know she was right about everything she just said.

"I know" she said, teasing him again "and I love you too".

Marius leaned in to kiss her softly on the lips, and she kissed him back. The he leaned down to kiss his son as well.

"I love you Léon" he said to his son as he kissed his soft head. And the three of them sat together that morning just quietly enjoying each other's company until it was time to wake the other children.

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**Does anyone else love Léon as much as i do? Send me ideas of chapters you'd like to see. Or not, whatever, i'm not your mother i cant tell you what to do.**


	12. How I met your papa

**Summary: Cosette tells her baby daughter how she met Marius.**

Cosette was feeling lonely, very lonely. Marius was away working outside of Paris and he had been gone for nearly a month so far. He had never been gone for such a long time before but his current case was proving to be a difficult one to win and Marius, never being one to give up on anything, was going to stay until the bitter end. Cosette understood, and she was proud of him for that, but this amount of time away from him was torture on her.

It was torture on him as well; she could tell that by the letters she had been receiving from him, he was clearly having a _hard time_ during the night without her.

Her nights were a little easier, as difficult as it was on her it was worse for him because he was away on his own, at least Cosette had her children around her to keep her company, still it wasn't much fun sleeping without him. During the days she could fill her time taking care of her children and keeping the household together, but the nights, well…..she was a married woman and she had needs only her husband could fulfill.

One evening Cosette had finished tucking her children in for the night, she had received a letter from Marius that morning saying that he should be home in a week at the latest and she and all her children were so glad to hear that. Cosette walked into her bedroom that night with a smile on her face, "_He'll be home soon, and then we'll make up for so much lost time_" she thought as she looked at her bed. She wasn't tired yet, but after her children had been put to bed she didn't feel like staying up any longer on her own so she decided to try and go to sleep early that night.

Her thoughts were interrupted that night by her youngest child Victoire; she was awake in her cot in the corner. She had just mastered rolling onto her stomach and lifting herself up onto her hands and knees, but she wasn't crawling yet despite being ten months old.

Cosette walked over to the cot and looked down at her baby girl, "What are you doing still awake little one?" Her little girl was bouncing up and down excitedly on her hands and knees and looking up at her mother with a smile.

"You look like a little puppy bouncing like that". Cosette said with a smile "Don't you want to sleep yet? Well neither do I sweetheart". Cosette reached down and picked up her baby girl, "Are you hungry? You're probably hungry aren't you?"

Cosette took her baby over to her bed and sat back against the pillows to give Victoire a feed. She was the spitting image of her mother that baby, everyone in the family said so, but still Cosette felt so close to Marius just by looking at her and holding her.

After Victoire had finished feeding she still wasn't sleepy so Cosette held her for a while trying to get her to fall asleep. She wasn't fussy tonight; in fact Victoire was the least fussy baby out of all of the Pontmercy children. It was quite remarkable actually, but then Cosette had thought she had been remarkable since the day she was born.

Cosette looked at her baby and smiled, "Do you miss papa?" she asked her "I miss papa. But he'll be home very soon I promise. I know he's been missing you very much little one, he can't wait to see you again".  
Victoire smiled as her mother talked to her which gave Cosette such joy, so she decided to talk to her some more that night until she was ready to fall asleep".

"Would you like to hear about how I met your papa?" she asked her baby who replied by babbling happily in baby talk. "I'll take that as a yes sweetheart". Cosette said.

"It was a long time ago" Cosette began, "long before you or any of your brothers and sisters were born. I was a silly little girl and your papa was a shy young man, we'd seen each other long before either of us ever spoke to each other. Do you know where we first saw each other sweetheart? It was in the Luxembourg gardens".

Cosette and Marius had always taken their children to the gardens to play, Victoire had been there several times already in her short life but Cosette doubted if she even remembered that yet.

"My father would take me to those gardens every day and I would always hope that I would see your papa there. When I would see him there and he would look at me I always felt beautiful just knowing that he was alive. But then we didn't see each other for such a long, I didn't know where he had gone or if I would ever see him again. I couldn't tell my father about him or even anyone, I was a very lonely girl and even though my father was wonderful I still felt like I needed more in my life"

Cosette paused for a moment to set her little girl down on the bed next to her, then she laid down and propped herself up on her arm so she could continue talking to her, she stroked the soft hair on her babys head that was starting to grow as she seemed to be settling down for the night again.

"I'd almost given up hope that I'd ever see your papa again, until one night a miracle happened. I had disobeyed my father and I was out in my garden late at night, I could feel someone watching me that night and I turned around and your papa was there in my garden, I don't know how he found me and I've never asked him how he knew where I lived, I'm just so glad he did find me".

"Do you know what I did when I saw him there sweetheart?" she asked her baby "I fainted! Can you believe that? I told you I was a silly girl back then didn't it. But that's what I did, and he caught me before I fell to the ground and we kissed for the first time that night, it was so wonderful. He would come to my garden every night after that and we would just sit together and talk or just look at each other, it was heaven and I never wanted it to end".

Cosette paused again knowing where the story was headed; she knew that there very nearly wasn't a happy ending to her story.

"But everything has to end sweetheart, and our time together was cut short. My father wanted to take me away from that happy place and I couldn't tell him about your papa, he would have been so angry at me. I know I should have just told him, but I was so foolish back then. Your papa didn't take the news well that I would have to leave him and he made a terrible decision that nearly cost him his life sweetheart. There was some terrible fighting in the streets of Paris at the time and your papa was involved in it".

Cosette smiled at her baby again, "Can you imagine that, your papa who's always telling your brothers off for fighting was once just as bad as they are. Boys can be so silly sometimes can't they sweetheart?"

Victoire was getting sleepy now; she was rubbing her eyes and nodding off gently so Cosette continued her story in whispers.

"Your papa nearly died in that fighting sweetheart" she said quietly "But he didn't, because he's strong and I prayed for him. I prayed so hard for him and he survived because he knew I loved him and that I was waiting for him. I'll always wait for him".

She smiled and looked at her baby, "We were married the next spring Victoire, and by the next year I was expecting your sister Marie. She was a beautiful baby just like you sweetheart, and then along came your brother Jean, then the twins and Léon and then you were born little one".

Cosette stroked Victoires hair again as she noticed she was now fast asleep, she smiled at her again and moved so close to her that she could feel her gentle breaths. "I love your papa so much, I'll always love him" she whispered "And I love him even more so ever since he gave me you. I miss him so much right now, but he'll be home soon I promise".

She kissed her baby gently on the forehead and said it once more just so she could hear it out loud again. "He'll be home soon, I promise".

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**Send me some ideas of chapters you'd like to see, i'll do my best to keep you happy. :D**


	13. It's just a cold

**Summary: Marie suffers from a cold so Cosette nurses her**

"It's just a cold Monsieur" the doctor said to Marius "She'll be fine in a few days, make sure she eats and let her rest and she'll be well again in no time".

Eight year old Marie was sick with a cold the poor thing. Marius of course was worried about her more than usual but then again he had always been especially attached to his eldest daughter. He had loved her since the day she was born, no before that even; since the day Cosette had told him she was pregnant he knew he loved her.  
Perhaps it was because she was his first child, or perhaps it was because she took after him more than Cosette but Marie was so very dear to him, he worried about her every time she got sick which was why he had insisted on calling for a doctor just to be safe.

Even though it was just a cold he was still concerned for his daughter, he had spent all morning by her bedside until the doctor had come by just to make sure she was alright, but he knew he had a meeting at his law firm this afternoon he had to get too as well. He didn't want to leave his daughter when she was sick, but it was an important meeting and he knew he couldn't miss it.

"Marius, go." Cosette had said to him outside Maries bedroom "You have clients waiting for you; I'll take care of Marie. I'll stay by her side all day if it'll make you feel better" she told Marius

"Cosette we have a new-born in the house you need to be looking after" He told his wife, thinking of their youngest daughter who had been born just two weeks ago.

"The nanny can handle her Marius, and the others as well, that's why we hired her isn't it? Marie needs me today". Cosette said to him which made Marius relent a little.

"Alright, just let me say goodbye to her and then I'll go" Marius said opening the door to his daughters room.

Marius went back into Maries room where she had been put to bed to rest and told her that he had to leave for a few hours, which made Marie a little upset as all she wanted right now was her father.

"Pwease don't go papa" Marie said with her nose all stuffed up.

"I have to sweetheart, it's important" Marius said, almost falling for her plea for him to stay

"But I'm sick, aren't I important too papa?" she said sadly

"Of course you are, you're the most important thing in the world to me" Marius said to his daughter, feeling himself wanting to stay more than anything now, but Cosette managed to bring him back to his senses.

"Marie, please don't manipulate your father" Cosette said with a smile on her face, knowing exactly the power her eldest daughter had over her husband, he would have thrown himself in front of a bullet if she had asked him too.

"I'll be home as soon as I can sweetheart". Marius said, "You just rest alright. I love you".

"I love you too Papa" Marie said sweetly

Marius smiled at his wife and then kissed her goodbye on the lips, and then he kissed his daughter on the forehead and left her bedroom, and then eventually the house as well, leaving his two favourite girls alone.

"Will you stay with me mama?" Marie asked Cosette after her father had gone. She didn't want to be left alone when she was sick.

"Of course I will my darling girl" Cosette said "I'll stay as long as you need me. "Why don't you try and sleep some more, it'll make you feel better".

"I don't want to, I can't bweathe thwough my nose and I'm scared I'll suffocate if I fall asweep" Marie said with a slight look of fear in her eyes

Cosette couldn't help but laugh softly at her daughters innocence, "Oh sweetheart, that won't happen trust me, as long as you can breathe through your mouth you'll be fine". She said

"Will you stay here and make sure I keep bweathing?" Marie asked sweetly

"Of course, now if you don't want to sleep would you like me to read to you sweetheart?" Cosette asked her daughter

"Yes pwease maman" Marie said, managing a cute smile.

Cosette picked out one of Maries favourite storybooks and began reading, staying by her daughters side just like she promised Marius she would. When Marie felt up to eating Cosette had the cook bring her up some soup, when her temperature rose a little Cosette cooled her down again by placing a wet cloth on her forehead. Cosette had seen her children through all sorts of illnesses since they had been born, she'd wiped noses, brought down fevers and had sat at her childrens bedsides countless times, a cold was nothing to her anymore but still, Cosette was worried about her daughter, she was just better at hiding it than her husband.

Later that afternoon when Marie had fallen asleep again Cosette ran her fingers gently through her daughters long brown hair as she rested and smiled at her. It was actually quite nice Cosette thought to have had this time to spend with her eldest, despite her being sick. Her younger children were a lot more demanding of her than Marie was, God bless her she was already so independent, but it was nice to know that she still needed her mama sometimes.

Cosette continued stroking her daughters hair and thought back to when she was a baby, she remembered the sheer agony of bringing her daughter into the world and the first time she had held her in her arms. She remembered marvelling at her babies beautiful tiny hands and feet and how she had made noises like a little kitten as she slept during those first few days of her life. She remembered breastfeeding her for the first time and the wonderful feeling she had felt when she fed her baby as she looked down into her beautiful brown eyes. She remembered how she couldn't pin her nappies properly around her until the nanny had shown her how to do it and it had frustrated her at first, but she had felt strangely proud of herself the first time she put a nappy on her baby and it hadn't fallen off.

She remembered with delight the first time she and Marius had taken Marie to the Luxembourg gardens when she was a baby and she had crawled around happily in the grass, and when she had stood up for the first time and raised her arms up in the air in triumph in front of her parents. Cosette had so many wonderful memories of her first daughter, even these memories she was amassing right now of being at her bedside and wiping snot from her nose were wonderful to her.

Later on that afternoon Cosette had fallen asleep along with Marie, she was still curled up in a chair next to her daughters bed when Marius arrived home and had gone straight upstairs to see Marie.  
He let himself into his daughters room quietly and smiled to see his wife and his eldest child both sleeping peacefully, he went up to Cosette and gently shook her shoulder, jostling her awake, and she smiled upon seeing her husband again.

"How are my girls?" he asked quietly

"We're both fine" Cosette replied, "Her temperatures gone down again and she ate some soup earlier".

"That's good, I'm very glad to hear that" Marius said, feeling relieved "Why don't I take over the Marie watch now though?"

"Are you sure you want to?" Cosette asked him

"I really want to Cosette, I've been worried about her all day and I'd like to be with her". Marius told her

"It's just a cold Marius, she's going to be fine" Cosette told him with a smile

"I know, but still, I worry" he said looking anxious again

"I know" she replied, fully understanding the worry a parent could feel when their child was sick.

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**Review please...validate my life!**


	14. I'm your big brother

**Summary: Jean doesn't like his new baby sister**

Jean Pontmercy had not had a good morning, his mother had just given birth to his youngest sister and he was feeling far from pleased about it. Cosette had been in labour all night and whilst his siblings had slept soundly Jean kept hearing his mother screaming in agony and it had deeply upset him.

He was seven years old and didn't know anything about childbirth, what he did know was that he didn't like hearing his mother screaming like she was doing. The poor lad was too young to remember when the twins were born, or his brother Léon, so he had no idea that it was just a normal part of childbirth.  
Jean had snuck out of his bed sometime past midnight last night and had pressed his ear to his mothers bedroom door to try and find out what was going on, but he was caught by his father and sent straight back to bed. This morning when he woke up he and his siblings were presented with the new family member but Jean didn't care about the little girl; in fact he hated that little baby right now for causing his mother to suffer so much.

When Marius asked Jean that morning if he'd like to hold his new sister he firmly said no, he didn't want anything to do with it; he just wanted to see his mother. Marius had already warned him though not to disturb her, she needed her rest today and that was that. Jean barely touched his breakfast this morning, he couldn't shake the feeling that his mother was hurt, surely no one would scream the way he had heard her scream if they weren't suffering terribly, he kept thinking something bad had happened to her and that his father was lying to him so as soon as Marius was distracted he went straight to his mothers bedroom to find out what was wrong.

Of course Cosette was fine, she was just exhausted. It had been a difficult birth that had taken all night and her body just needed to recover. However she couldn't be too angry at her son when he had woken her up by stroking her hair gently, she was actually quite touched by her sons concern for her. He had been so scared that his mother was hurt; he even told her that he didn't like the new baby because she had caused her all that pain, but then Cosette explained to him that all babies hurt their mothers when they're born, even he had hurt her, and that he shouldn't blame his new sister for anything.

Hearing it from his mother like that had made Jean feel so much more at ease with everything that morning, and he was so glad to hear his father say these words to him not long after he had spoken to his mother.

"Are you ready to meet your new sister now Jean?" Marius said to the boy

Jean nodded happily in return and said "Yes please papa".

"Alright then, sit tight and I'll get her" Marius said placing the boy on a chair in the parlour whilst he went to fetch the nanny who was looking after the new-born for the moment. When Marius returned he knelt down in front of the boy and gently handed the baby over to his son.

"Here we go, support the head" he said as he put the child into his sons arms, surprised at how quickly his son seemed to be at ease with holding the new-born. Marius remembered at that moment with delight how when his first child Marie had been born it took him ages to get to grips with holding the squirming little baby properly.

"Look at you, you're a natural" he said, sitting down next to his son and ruffling his hair a little. Jean barely noticed the fatherly act of affection though, he was too mesmerised by his sister.

There was something about her eyes that transfixed him; they were so beautiful and blue just like his mothers and it took him a moment to realise what it was about her he liked so much.

"Papa, she has mamas eyes!" Jean exclaimed

"You're right she does" Marius replied looking at his daughter. "Aren't they beautiful? Just like your mothers".

From that moment on Jean was in love with that little baby, he knew even at seven years old that he would do anything for her. He already had three younger siblings but he knew that this little girl was very special and he was so ready to be her big brother, he wanted that responsibility more than anything.

"Here let me take her back now" Marius said after the boy had been holding her for a long time.

"No please papa, let me hold her for a little longer" Jean said, not wanting to give her up just yet.

"Alright, can you do something for me then? Can you sit here with her and look after her while I go have a shave?" Marius asked his boy

"Yes papa" Jean replied

"If you get bored, just get the nanny to take her and you can go play. In fact you can all take the day off from studies today to celebrate this little one" Marius said

"I won't get bored papa" Jean said with a smile

"Alright then, I won't be long" Marius said, and then kissed his boys hair softly before leaving him alone with his sister, he knew she would be fine with him but he still asked the nanny to stay close by in case the boy couldn't handle her.

Once Jean was left alone again he turned his attention back to his baby sister, he leant down to kiss her on the forehead and as he was kissing her she raised one of her tiny hands up to touch his face. They had bonded with each other forever now, Jean had already forgotten how he felt about her that very morning, barely two hours ago he had hated her, now he knew he was in love with her.

"Do you know who I am?" He said quietly to the baby "I'm your big brother, my names Jean. You don't have a name yet do you but you'll get one soon I'm sure, mama and papa will name you. Mamas resting right now, she's very tired so we can't wake her up today or papa will be mad".

Jean sat like that talking to his sister for a while, he told her about her other brothers and sisters and about the house and the little he knew about Paris so far, until his brother Courfeyrac came into the room and disturbed the two of them.

"Jean come and play, papa says we don't have to study today". The boy said excitedly

"No, I don't want to play, I promised papa I'd look after our sister". Jean said, annoyed by his brothers presence.

Courfeyrac looked at the baby in his brothers arms and was still as unimpressed with her as he was that morning. He wasn't being malicious, it's just that he was a five year old boy and therefore he didn't like anything that wasn't also a five year old boy like him. He didn't understand why he couldn't have another brother instead of a sister.

"Why couldn't Mama have another boy like Léon?" Courfeyrac asked "You can't play with girls, they're stupid".

"Shut up!" Jean said, getting angry at his brother now "She's not stupid, you're stupid"

"You can't do anything fun with girls, and you look like a girl right now as well". Courfeyrac said, aggravating his brother even more

"Shut up!" Jean said again, louder this time which unfortunately made the baby start crying.

"Now look what you did, you made her cry" Jean said getting upset

"I didn't do that, you did it" Courfeyrac said getting more annoyed at the baby

Meanwhile Marius had just walked back into the room looking clean shaven again; he had heard the boys arguing and decided he should break it up as the baby was getting upset.

"Alright boys that's enough, Jean give her to me" He said, walking up to his son and reaching out his arms to the crying baby. Jean however still didn't want to give her up, even though she was squirming quite a bit in his arms now

"Give her to me Jean it's alright, you did a good job looking after her" Marius said firmly, which made the boy relent and hand her over again.

"I didn't mean to make her cry Papa, I'm sorry". Jean said sadly

"It's alright it's not your fault, babies like to cry that's all. You can go and play now, both of you". Marius said to his boys, and they left the room together.

Marius settled his little girl down again in his arms, rocking her gently until she stopped crying. He looked down at her again when she was quiet and said softly to her. "Don't worry, they're just your big brothers that's all".

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**Any suggestions for chapters? Let me know.**


	15. A non-spectacular birth

**Summary: Cosette goes through childbirth for the fifth time.**

"Here we go again" Cosette had thought to herself as the contractions started one morning and the midwife summoned.

Cosette was about to give birth to her fifth child today, thankfully for her everything was going normally and the labour was a fairly uneventful one. It still hurt like hell of course, but Cosette felt like her body had changed considerably ever since she had given birth to her twins nearly three years ago so somehow this birth seemed easier than her previous ones.

There was nothing spectacular about this birth, Cosette felt like an expert at it by now. She was just thankful that it seemed to happening quite swiftfully, the contractions had started just before breakfast and by mid-afternoon everything was well underway. Marius was there of course, he was present at the birth of all his babies, he still thought of it as a miracle every time he saw one of his children born and he still thought of Cosette as amazing for being able to bear the pain of childbirth.

He was so proud of her, and he was eager to meet his new child just as much as Cosette was. They had discussed at length what gender they hoped this new baby would be, and although Marius did have a longing for another son he still thought a little girl would be lovely as well.

By one o'clock that afternoon the midwife instructed Cosette to start pushing, and as Marius said encouraging words to her Cosette gripped his hand and pushed down with such a look of determination on her face as she felt the same pain she had felt with her other births.

There was nothing spectacular about it at all as the head came out first, followed shortly by the rest of the baby as well.

Cosette breathed out deeply in relief as her baby was born, _"Thank God that's over"_ she thought to herself, glad that the pain was over. Marius was looking at her with such a look of pride as they both heard the new-born crying for the first time.

"Well done Cosette" Marius said softly to her as she rested her head back against the pillow and smiled weakly at him. She was glad to hear that sound, but also relieved that the birth was over as well, she felt quite exhausted by it.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" she asked him, she was too sore to sit upright properly to get a good look yet so she had to rely on her husband to confirm the gender right now.

Marius stood up and looked down at the squirming crying child that was being cleaned up by the midwife, he tilted his head curiously until he found what he was looking for and when he saw it he smiled proudly and turned back to his wife.

"It's a boy" he said happily, "He's beautiful Cosette".

Cosette closed her eyes for a moment and smiled again, not a weak smile this time but a properly joyful smile as she realised she had given her husband another son.

"That's wonderful" she said happily, her eyes tearing up slightly "Let me hold him please" she said as she tried raising herself up against the pillows.

The midwife finished wrapping him up in a blanket and stood up to hand the little boy over to Cosette. "Here he is Madame, ten fingers and ten toes, he's perfect and quite a gem I must say". She said as she gently put the baby boy into her arms.

"It's just the one baby this time isn't it?" she asked the midwife, remembering when she had birthed her daughter Isabel and then minutes later her son Courfeyrac joined the world as well. They were lovely children, but Cosette only wanted one baby to deal with this time.

"Yes Madame, I'm sure of it". The midwife said with a smile.

Cosette turned her attention to her baby and gasped softly when she looked at him properly for the first time.

"Oh my….." she said quietly as she gazed at him "You were right Marius, he's beautiful"

Of course Cosette had thought all her babies were beautiful, but when they were newborns they did rather look quite troll like at first. This baby though, well Cosette had never seen such a beautiful baby before; he looked like a little angel with his gorgeous blue eyes and little button nose.

Cosette and Marius sat happily with their new son as the midwife cleaned up Cosette and packed away her equipment. The little boys eyes weren't adjusted to light yet and he instinctively covered them with his tiny hands which made him look so adorable.

Cosette passed the boy to Marius after a long time of gazing at him so he could bond with the new-born as well.

"I'll never get used to this Cosette" he said as he held his new son. He had tears in his eyes, just like he always had when he held his children for the first time. "You're so amazing for giving me five babies, I can't imagine how much it must hurt for you, but I'm so grateful to you Cosette. I love you so much".

"I love you too Marius" she said to him happily.

A little while later Marius went to fetch their other children so they could meet their new brother. The nanny had been taking care of them all morning so Marius could be with his wife, he wasn't sure if they fully knew what was going on as they were still quite young and didn't know anything about childbirth yet so it was going to be quite a surprise for them today to suddenly have a new baby in the house.

As Marius was fetching the children Cosette was left alone with her baby, she still couldn't get over how beautiful and tiny he was. She was so glad right then that she and Marius had decided not to stop after four children, not that they had much control over how many they would have anyway, but she did admit to feeling slightly ambivalent about this pregnancy in its early stages. It wasn't that she hadn't wanted another baby; it was just the monotony of pregnancy that was starting to get to her. Still, as she held her little boy in her arms she couldn't believe she had ever felt that way, if only she had known what a lovely little boy she had been carrying all along.

"Look at you" she said sweetly to the boy in her arms, "I cant believe you're really mine, you're so gorgeous you could be an angel".

The baby yawned widely as he was being held by his mother that afternoon, which made Cosette smile sweetly at him. She could tell she had already fallen in love with this little boy, he wasn't even a day old and he had already stolen her heart.

"Aww, that's such a big yawn for such a little man" she said tenderly to him "Are you tired? Imagine how I must feel my little one".

Just then Cosette could hear the excited voices of her other children approaching the bedroom and she sat a little more upright to greet them.

"I hope you're ready to meet your brothers and sisters" Cosette said, a fraction of a second before the door opened and the other children filled the room with their childish noise.

Her two elder children Marie and Jean hopped up onto the bed themselves so they could greet their mother and see the baby whilst Marius helped his twins up, they were only a few months shy of turning three so they still needed help getting up onto high places.

They were all ecstatic to have a brand new baby brother, Marie was a little upset that they now had more boys than girls in the house and she asked her mother if she could have a girl instead next time.

"I'll try sweetheart I promise" she said, although inside she knew she had no control over it, Marie was only six though bless her so she humoured her for now.

It was a wonderful day for everyone in the Pontmercy house to have the new arrival here, Cosette and Marius were so proud of all them for being so well-behaved around him and they announced to the children that they were going to name him León. They all agreed that it was a great name for him, and they all agreed that he was a gorgeous baby as well.

There wasn't anything particularly spectacular about this birth at all, it was completely normal for everyone involved, but Cosette and Marius now had the most beautiful baby boy they'd ever seen, perhaps that was the most spectacular thing about it after all.

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**I used to get reviews...they made me feel special. Now i get nothing, I don't feel special anymore :(**


	16. The fear of childbirth

**I know the Pontmercy kids don't really feature much in this one, but I had an idea that I couldn't stretch into a whole story so I thought it would fit here.**

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**Summary: Childbirth is a scary premise.**

Cosette Pontmercy could still not quite believe she was the mother of six children, when she had fallen in love with Marius all she could think of was being with him, she had paid no mind to the future, all she knew was that she wanted her life to be with him. But she had been so young and naïve then and she knew so little of the duties of women.

Of course nobody had taught her very much when she was growing up, in the convent the girls were only being trained to become nuns, and her father, well…..he would never have dared to talk to her about marital duty.

Still, she had learnt fairly quickly about what was expected from her out of marriage once she became Madame Pontmercy, although Marius never made it feel like a duty towards him. To her great delight Cosette actually found that she enjoyed sexual relations with her husband and when they were newlyweds they could barely keep their hands off each other, but there was a price to pay for all that pleasure though and that price was childbirth.

* * *

Cosette gazed down at her youngest child one morning as she was giving her a feed, Victoire had been born mere days ago and was already one of the most beautiful babies Cosette had ever seen.  
The child had been christened yesterday in church and was presented to the world as Victoire Adele Pontmercy. She had been as good as gold when the priest baptised her in the name of God, unlike all of her siblings who had cried as the holy water had been poured on them Victoire was a perfect angel, it was quite remarkable.

In fact Cosette had thought that child remarkable ever since she was born; she was very nearly a stillborn child and it had terrified Cosette but it just made the child seem all that more precious knowing that she had survived. After six children the fear of losing one of them at birth had still not gone away, nor had another fear, the fear that childbirth might kill her as well.

As Cosette was tending to her baby that morning she thought back to when she was pregnant with her first child eight years ago. It had been a wonderful time for Cosette knowing that she was going to become a mother and Marius had never seemed happier either. They had both suffered terrible losses, Marius had the guilt of being the only survivor out of his friends during the June rebellion and then Cosette had lost her dear father soon after her marriage had begun. It was a dark time for them both, but when Cosette fell pregnant with their first child it felt like a new chapter for both of them and they were so happy.

But Cosette was no fool, she knew that childbirth killed many women and she was terrified that it might take her too. Her fear of giving birth and the pain of it was nothing compared to the fear she had that something might happen to her or the child. She wanted to speak of her fears to Marius, but she didn't know how to, and besides she didn't want to burden him with any of this anyway.

Still, one night though when she was six months gone and everything was progressing normally she felt she had to say something to Marius. They were sat alone together in the parlour after their evening meal as everyone else had either retired to bed early or were just busying themselves with other activities.

Cosette thought to herself that she should speak to Marius now; there was no reason to leave it any longer so she gathered up her courage and spoke up.

"Marius, can I talk to you about something?" She asked

"Of course" Marius replied turning to her, "what's the matter?"

"I'm…" Cosette began, not really knowing how to say what she wanted to say "I'm scared Marius"

"Of what?" Marius asked, although he already had an idea of what she was talking about

"Of having this baby, I'm terrified of what might happen to me, or to the baby. I hear about women who die during childbirth all the time and I know that it could happen to me. I really want this baby, but I'm scared Marius, I'm scared all the time". Cosette said

"Cosette, please don't" He said, standing up and walking over to the fire in the corner, he looked down at it, not able to look at her right now. She didn't know it but he already had these fears inside him, and it was scaring him just as much as it was scaring her, perhaps even more so, because Marius knew he wouldn't be able to survive if Cosette wasn't with him.

"Marius...please, I need you to hear this" Cosette pleaded to him

"Cosette stop" He said firmly, turning back to her again. "Don't you think I already know all of this? It terrifies me that something could happen to you, I think about it all the time, what good does it do to speak about it though?"

"But we need to face this Marius, I could d…" she began.

"Cosette no, don't say it" Marius said, now with tears forming in his eyes, Cosette noticed this and felt a little guilty for upsetting him. She had no idea that Marius felt exactly the same fears she was feeling, it was hurting him inside more than she could ever know, but how could he tell her those things when it was killing him to even think about it.

Marius went back to where Cosette was sitting and knelt down In front of her, he decided to tell her his fears and he spoke with and intensity in his voice that Cosette had only rarely heard.

"It haunts me Cosette, the thought that you could die. Don't you understand that? I don't want to talk to you about this because I can't, I just can't say it. I can't even think about being apart from you for a second because it hurts me too much".

Tears were flowing down his face now, Marius had always been an emotional man, but he very rarely showed this much of it. The last time Cosette had seen him this upset about anything was when he had returned to the café musain all that time ago to make his peace about the loss of his friends.

"I've already lost too much; if I lose you as well I don't think I could go on anymore. If I didn't have you then what would I have to live for? I'm nothing without you Cosette". He said finally, then he placed his head in Cosettes lap and continued crying as she stroked his hair gently, comforting him.

Marius cried for a long time into her lap, letting out all the anxiety he had been feeling ever since the pregnancy began, he couldn't blame Cosette for being pregnant any more than he could blame himself for it, it was supposed to be a joyous thing and sometimes it was, but it didn't stop the fear he had that he could lose his wife because of it.

"I'm sorry Marius, I shouldn't have said anything" Cosette said, after he had seemed to calm down again, she had looked to him for comfort that night, but instead she found herself having to comfort him.

He looked up at her and wiped his eyes, taking her hands in his as he faced her again.

"No, don't be sorry. Maybe you're right Cosette, we should talk about this". He said to her calmly, if anything this night had helped him a little, his anxiety had been building up for a long time and it wasn't helping anyone by keeping it bottled up like he was doing, this was something they had to talk about, because it was a real situation they were facing and yes it might have been scary, but they were both adults and this was something they both had to face up to.

And so they did, they discussed the fears they both had and in the end it wasn't so scary once they confronted it together. Cosette even made Marius realise that he would have something to live for if she died, because he would still have their child even if she wasn't there and Marius promised Cosette that fatherhood was something he could live for.

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That fear she felt didn't go away though with each child Cosette would bear, she was still always afraid that childbirth would be too much for her and Marius would be left alone after she died. This most recent birth she had just been through had been too close for comfort, her baby had nearly died and that had affected her a lot more deeply than she knew, but as she looked down at her beautiful healthy little girl that morning she noticed just how happy and safe her baby was and she felt incredibly blessed because of that.

Cosette thanked God that morning for looking after her family and for keeping her safe, just as she did every day of her life.

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**Review please... If you read and don't review well then you're nothing more than a common thief! A thief I tell ya! Nah I'm just kidding :P**


	17. The twin surprise

**Summary: Cosette gets a surprise when she gives birth to her third child.**

"Ouch!" Cosette exclaimed as she lay in her bed one evening with Marius next to her. "I think this baby must have four legs".

Cosette was heavily pregnant with her third child, nearly seven months had passed and everything had progressed normally just like her previous two pregnancies. In the beginning her morning sickness had affected her more so than it had with the others and she had been bedridden for several days but that too had passed and her body had responded well to being pregnant again.

Marius smiled at her as Cosette placed one of her hands over her stomach, she was always saying to Marius that this baby felt more rambunctious than the other two had been, it was constantly kicking and moving and sometimes Cosette felt like she was carrying around an octopus, not a baby.

"It certainly does seem eager to be born doesn't it" Marius said as he placed a hand gently over hers. "Be patient my son, it won't be long now until we meet" he said to her swollen stomach as Cosette rolled her eyes at him playfully.

"You're so sure it's a boy Marius, why is that?" She asked him

"I'm not really sure Cosette, I just think it is" Marius told her.

Truthfully Marius didn't know why exactly he thought this new baby was going to be a boy; he just had a feeling in his heart that it was another son like Jean. Cosette on the other hand felt strongly that it was another girl like their daughter Marie; one of them was going to be wrong in the end either way, but it didn't stop them from teasing each other like they had been for months now, with both of them saying which they thought it would be and the names they would like to christen it.

"You won't be disappointed if it's a girl will you?" Cosette said, with a hint of worry in her voice.

"No of course not, a little girl would be wonderful" Marius replied softly and leaned in to kiss her lips gently.

"So have you thought of any more names you like?" He then asked her, and she smiled as she thought about the name she had really begun to like the sound of.

"I like Isabel for a little girl" she said happily, and as soon as she said it Marius knew he was in love with that name already.

"That's beautiful." He smiled as he thought about having another daughter in the house. "Isabel Pontmercy" he said, trying it out to see how it sounded.

"What about you? Do you have any more boy names?" Cosette asked him

"I do actually, I know I said I liked Léon or Luc for a son, but….." He paused for a moment as he thought about the name he had chosen, the way this baby seemed to be so excitable already even though it wasn't even born yet reminded him of someone he used to know.

"What do you think about the name Courfeyrac?" Marius asked

"Courfeyrac?" Cosette said, furrowing her brow slightly. "Wasn't that the name of your old roommate?"

"It was" Marius said, slightly sadly "He was my best friend, back when I was so lonely. Before you Cosette"

Marius didn't talk about the friends he had before his life with Cosette began very often, sometimes it was just too painful for him. He lost them all in that rebellion all those years ago and it still affected him to this day. Courfeyrac had been his sole confidant for so long when he was poor and alone and miserable, he lent him money that Marius never had the chance to pay back, he would have died for Courfeyrac, in fact he very nearly did. He had been so full of life when he was alive, so excited about the world, so eager to change it, for some reason the way this baby seemed so eager to enter the world already reminded him of his old friend, which is why he suggested the name to Cosette.

Marius told her about his friend that night, explaining to her why the name meant so much to him and why it seemed to suit the baby.

"I like it Marius" Cosette said after he had told her about the friend she had never met, "I think it'll be a wonderful name for our son"

"Thank you Cosette" Marius said, and kissed her softly again on the lips.

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Two months later Cosette was in labour again, it was all very well for them to talk about names and imagine how lovely and sweet their baby would be, but it didn't change the fact that childbirth was torture on Cosette, in fact she couldn't help but hate Marius a little for making her go through this for the third time.

As she panted and pushed and screamed she couldn't wait for it all to be over and done with once more, but she also couldn't wait to meet her new baby either, she wanted to prove Marius wrong and show him the baby girl she knew she was having. He was of course there once again by her side comforting her and eagerly awaiting the birth of his child.

Thankfully for Cosette everything was going well and she was glad when she heard the midwife inform her that the head was out, and then after a brief pause the rest of the baby was born too.

Marius looked down at the baby as it was being seen to by the midwife and he smiled joyfully.

"Isabel" he said quietly to himself, and then he turned to Cosette to let her know that she had been right all along. "It's a girl Cosette". He said happily to her

Cosette smiled a weary but ecstatic smile and couldn't help but tease her husband again "I knew it would be" she said tearing up slightly.

But as the couple were letting the news sink in that they had a new daughter in their house again the midwife had noticed that Cosette wasn't finished yet.

"Madame….." she said, not really sure how to say the next part of the sentence as it was obvious the two of them had only thought they were having one child today "Did you know you were expecting twins?"

"What?!" The two of them exclaimed almost simultaneously, clearly they had been totally unprepared for this surprise.

"Twins?" Cosette said "What? How? Marius…." She tried to get her husband to react to this news like she was doing, in utter shock, but he was just standing looking dumbfounded and it was annoying her. Also she thought she was done with the pain and she was not in the mood for giving birth again so soon.

Cosette tried again to get her husbands attention; she wanted to hit him right now for putting her through this. "MARIUS!" she said angrily, which made him turn his head around to her again.

"TWINS MARIUS!" she said loudly, managing to look quite scary at that moment.

"I know Cosette!" Marius replied, trying to remain calm, "It's a shock I know but please don't get worked up darling".

"I'M HAVING TWINS!" Cosette shouted again, but then the pain overtook her and she began crying so Marius tried to comfort her.

"Cosette, look at me. It's going to be alright I promise". Marius said, "We've got a beautiful little girl right now and you need to try and calm down because we're about to have another one. Can you do that Cosette?"

Cosette nodded with tears flowing from her eyes, she didn't have a lot of time to argue because the midwife then informed her it was time to push again.

"I'm right here Cosette" Marius said "It's going to be alright"

Cosette pushed again, and screamed as her fourth child was born on a day she was only expecting her third. She didn't really have time to process any of this information at that moment though as she was just trying to cope with the pain of childbirth again. She didn't know if she could cope with any more of this, or if she could cope with two babies at once, but when she heard the second baby crying as it came into the world Cosette couldn't help but smile, if nothing else at least it was finally over.

"Oh my God…." she heard Marius say quietly as he was looking at the second baby that the midwife was cleaning up.

"What's wrong?" Cosette said, panicking slightly at those words.

"Nothing's wrong" Marius said turning to her with a smile, "Cosette, it's a boy! We have a girl and a boy!"

Cosette returned his smile but she could barely believe any of this. First she had been expecting one baby, then she had been expecting another girl, and now she had just been told she had given birth to a baby boy and a baby girl.  
A lot of information was being piled on Cosette at the moment and the only thing she could do right then was cry, simply out of pure joy and shock at the events of the day.

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Later on after everything was over and Cosette and the babies were cleaned up and looking lovely, the couple had finally gotten over the shock of having two babies all of a sudden.

The twins were to be named Isabel and Courfeyrac, the two names that Cosette and Marius had both chosen months earlier in preparation. They had thought they would only be using one of them today but as it turned out both of them got to use the names they had wanted to use and they were both so happy about that.

The two of them were watching their babies sleeping together in the single bassinet that they had prepared. Of course they only had the one, because they had only been expecting one baby today, but the twins looked so adorable sleeping in it together. They were practically hugging each other as they slept with their arms entwined with each other's, breathing gently and peacefully, bonded forever already even though they were only a few hours old.

Marius looked down at them from the chair he was sat in smiling as he watched them, Cosette was recuperating on the bed and was looking over at them as well, smiling too as she watched her two little babies. She knew she loved them already, but she was still feeling terrified at the idea of having two babies at once, on top of already having two other small children in the house as well it felt like a lot of pressure for her.

"Do you really think we can handle this Marius?" she said quietly, with fear in her eyes.

Marius wanted to reassure her and say yes, of course they could handle twins, but to tell the truth he was just as scared as she was right now. Twins…..he hadn't been expecting twins today at all.

"I don't know Cosette" he said truthfully, "Honestly I didn't think we could handle Marie, or Jean, but we did. I think we just have to do our best, these are our children Cosette and we'll do our best".

That wasn't exactly what Cosette had needed to hear, but it was the truth and she knew it. They were doing their best with their other children and they were turning out to be lovely already, so she accepted what Marius said.

"I love you Marius" Cosette replied

"I love you too Cosette" Marius said right back

"My God…..twins!" Cosette added quietly as she looked at her babies again.

"I knew we were having a boy" Marius said with a smile

"And I knew we were having a girl" Cosette said, returning the smile.


	18. Firstborn

**Summary: The first-born Pontmercy child arrives into the world**

October 2, 1834. It was a date that Marius and Cosette Pontmercy would never forget, not for the rest of their lives.

Why? Well because that was the day their first child was born.

It was a wonderfully crisp autumn day, one of those days where everything looks so beautiful it makes you glad to be alive, and Cosette in particular was feeling very glad to be alive. It was rather morbid to think about but she knew very well that many women died in childbirth so that afternoon when her first child was placed in her arms, a beautiful baby girl, she felt so blessed and protected.

It wasn't easy though; the birth had been the single most painful experience of her life. She couldn't have begun to imagine during her pregnancy the amount of pain that she would be in for, it was unbelievable. She felt like she was being torn apart from the inside, she really did feel like she was going to die during the birth, it was terrifying for her. She held Marius's hand tightly and begged him not to leave her; if she was going to die she didn't want it to be in the company of strangers. Of course Marius didn't leave her; he had always planned on being there for the birth of his child, the two of them had had this discussion months before the blessed day arrived.

They had been alone in their parlour room one evening when Marius has been deep in thought, pondering something when he suddenly blurted out these words.

"I want to be there with you when our child is born Cosette" He said.

Cosette looked at him curiously, "Do men usually do that?" she asked him, genuinely intrigued. She hadn't talked about pregnancy or childbirth much with her close friends, the ones she had made since she had been married. Some of them had children of their own already and she had gotten some pieces of advice from them, but none of them mentioned anything about their husbands role in childbirth.

"Well…..no I don't think so" Marius said, "But I'm not interested in what other men do. I just want to be there".

"I don't know Marius; it sounds like it's going to be very undignified. I'm not sure if I want you to see me like that". Cosette said

"I've already seen all of you Cosette, I've seen everything". Marius said to her kindly, "But I understand. Please think about it though Cosette, I love you and I love our baby. I just want to be there for you".

Cosette did think about it, for a long time, she really wasn't comfortable with the idea of him being there when she gave birth, however when the day finally arrived and the pain of childbirth hit her she begged Marius not to leave her. She was scared and she needed him there, she didn't care that it wasn't the proper thing; she was too frightened to let him go.

But after all the pain, the fear, the tears and the indignity Cosette was rewarded with a beautiful baby girl and the second she looked into her daughters big brown eyes she had all but forgotten about the horrors of childbirth, for it had all been worth it.

* * *

After the midwife had packed away her equipment, the bed sheets changed and Cosette was made presentable again Marius stepped out of the bedroom his daughter had been born in and went to tell the rest of the household the good news.

He walked into the parlour where his grandfather and his aunt were waiting; his aunt had been looking quite tense for most of the day. She had been praying for Cosettes safety, as rigid as the old woman was she was quite fond of Cosette and didn't wish her any harm. His grandfather though was handling it all with the same carefree attitude he always had and wasn't nervous or agitated in the slightest, in fact he was excited about the prospect of having a great-grandchild in the house.

"Well?" he had said when Marius walked into the room.

Marius's eyes were teary, but they had been from happy tears and his expression showed nothing but joy when he came in.

"They're both fine, it's a girl" he said with a smile, "She's beautiful".

Grandfather was disappointed slightly at the fact that the baby was a girl, after all girls weren't nearly as valuable as boys were, but it was still Gillenormand blood in those veins so that gave him some merriment.

"Well…..that's…..yes" the old man rambled, standing up and heading to the drinks cabinet in the corner. "You need a brandy my boy".

The old man poured a drink for himself and his grandson and the two of them shared a toast to the new arrival, his aunt excused herself whilst the men drank and chatted idly together about the blessed event.

"You're a man today my boy". Grandfather said, placing a hand on the young mans shoulder. "You'll have a son one day I'm sure. Keep trying, it'll happen".

"I don't care about that grandfather, i just want healthy children" Marius said, trying not to let the mans words bother him, as if somehow a daughter meant less to him than a son would.

"A man should always have a son" His grandfather announced

"You didn't" Marius whispered sneakily into his glass, taking another swig of his brandy.

"I have you Marius" Grandfather replied.

* * *

A little while later, once their brandy had been drunk and they had toasted the baby many times, grandfather decided he wanted meet the new arrival so Marius took him upstairs to the master bedroom where Cosette and the baby were both resting.

The little girl was asleep in a bassinet by the bed on which Cosette was recuperating. Once Marius had been assured that she was appropriate to receive visitors Grandfather made his way over to the two of them to give his verdict on the new member of the family.

The old man stood over the bassinet for a moment, looking at the sleeping baby, tilting his head back and forth curiously as if he were judging it.

"Hmmm, well…yes. Adorable". Grandfather said finally, as he patted Marius gently on the back, giving his stamp of approval.

"Quite like your mother" He then said to Marius, referring to the baby, which took him by surprise. He very rarely talked about his mother; it was an odd compliment to hear from him.

The old man then turned his attention to Cosette, taking one of her hands into his and bringing it to his lips, kissing it gently.

"Well done my dear girl" he said to Cosette "You've truly been a blessing on this household. May you continue to bring many more children into this home".

"Thank you Grandfather" Cosette said, touched by the old mans words.

* * *

After grandfather had left the room again Marius sat down next to the bed with his wife and his daughter.

The two of them were both ecstatic about their baby girl, but Marius couldn't help but notice a look of sadness on Cosettes face as she looked over at the babies' basket.

"Are you alright?" he asked, concerned for her.

"Yes, I'm fine" she said, assuring him. "It's just…I wish my father could have been here to see this". She said sadly

Marius reached out to take her hand, "I know" He said softly, "He would have been so proud of you Cosette".

Cosette smiled sadly at him, and then shook those thoughts from her head. Today was a day of celebration, not of sadness. She looked over at the baby again, still asleep in her bassinet.

"I can't decide who she looks more like, you or me". Cosette said happily

Marius smiled at the baby, then at his wife. "She's gorgeous Cosette; it's all you darling I promise you".

Actually Marius was wrong, he didn't mean to be but he was just so enraptured by his firstborn that he would have said anything at that moment. In fact the girl grew up inheriting her fathers features and his thoughtful nature more than anything of her mothers. She was always a daddy's girl, perhaps because she was named after him.

Marie is what they named her, after Marius of course, because she was his firstborn child and his greatest pride and joy.

* * *

**Finally an update! I'm still here people! Just having a lack of inspiration at the moment :( Anyway, review if you like, and suggest ideas if you have any.**


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